Grief is not only a private feeling. It is something communities carry—and too often leave people to carry alone.

I’m Devin Mykel DiSerio, founder of Grief Nights in Syracuse, New York. I am raising $10,000 to produce the founding public commission: one free, secular, artist-led civic ritual where adults can give grief a witnessed public form without diagnosis, required belief, forced disclosure, or registration.

Grief Nights is not therapy, a support group, a religious service, or a content event. It is public grief infrastructure: a carefully designed gathering organized through four movements—Arrival, Naming, Witnessing, and Release. People may speak or remain silent, participate or pass, step out, or leave. There will be no advice-giving, no pressure to disclose, and no photographing visibly grieving people without specific consent.

The founding commission will fund four weeks of preproduction followed by one accessible public gathering. Funding supports two-adult event coverage, paid artists and contributors, participatory art, quiet-space support, safety and referral protocols, accessibility, insurance and permits, and transparent documentation so the model can be responsibly improved and repeated.

THE $10,000 BUDGET

• Founder / creative producer / facilitator — $2,000

• Co-holder, artists, production, quiet-space and site support — $2,400

• Venue, A/V, insurance and permits — $1,550

• Accessibility and participant materials — $1,500

• Outreach, anonymous evaluation and documentation — $750

• Fiscal administration and contingency — $1,800

CURRENT STATUS

Grief Nights is in its founding, pre-pilot phase. The concept and griefnights.org are public. No venue, event date, partner, funder, fiscal sponsor, insurance, attendance history, or launch date is being claimed as confirmed. A specific date and location will be announced only after written venue terms, two adult holders, safety review, and an insurance path are secured.

Grief Nights is not currently a nonprofit, and contributions are not represented as tax-deductible. I am organizing this fundraiser as an individual to pay documented project costs.

Support funds the project’s construction—not the purchase of anyone’s grief. Recognition stays at the perimeter: the campaign page, printed program, arrival area, public thank-you, and final report. Donors will not receive attendee data, access to personal stories, control over the ritual, or permission to film participants.

WHY THIS MATTERS

We have clinics, churches, funerals, and private coping—but almost no shared civic structure for grief that does not require a diagnosis, membership, money, or explanation. Grief Nights begins with one question:

What would it look like if a city made room to witness what its people carry?

Your donation helps build that room. If you cannot donate, sharing this campaign with one local business, funeral home, arts supporter, or civic institution can be just as important.

Devin Mykel DiSerio

Founder, Grief Nights / Earth Favored Studios

https://griefnights.org