Melissa Unger is a Franco-American artist, author, advisor and the Founder & Creative Director of Seymour Projects. 

An artist of the soul, she serves as a catalyst for exploration, growth and transformation. 

Melissa is passionate about improving health and well-being through creative expression and intentional design. Her focus is on encouraging Divine Play and revitalizing Sacred Space. 

Her work contributes to the fields of human consciousness, spirituality, and wellness. Melissa and her projects have been featured in academic studies, scholarly publications, many Best of guides, podcasts and international press including: Huffington Post, Die Zeit, ELLE Magazine, Le Figaro, Libération, Le Monde, El Pais, and New York Magazine. 

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In 2011, Melissa founded Seymour Projects a consciousness incubator. Seymour Projects helps individuals disconnect from technology (& other outside distractions) to reconnect with themselves. As Creative Director she spearheads the conception, design and production of the collective’s tech-free, creatively therapeutic spaces, objects & experiences. These transformative offerings, which Melissa considers ‘playgrounds & playthings for adults’, support introspection, reflection & play, in part by recalling unfettered childhood states, resulting in pure and meaningful connection to self and others.  

Her largest project to date SEYMOUR+ | A Spa For The Mind was located in Paris France 2014-2017. This groundbreaking space was acclaimed internationally and considered a precursor to what has since become a movement. 

During the last decade, via Seymour Projects she also edited Seymour Magazine, produced a series of talks & videos, published limited edition books and co-created many other ‘pop up’ spaces and objects. 

Her novel GAG, an exploration of identity, perception & relationship was published by Roundfire Books in 2014.

Her visual art has been exhibited in various venues internationally, as well as featured on a variety of goods, most notably on the cover of the pop/rock band Nada Surf’s record album Never Not Together and companion EP Cycle Through.

In addition to her work with Seymour Projects and her own creative practice, Melissa offers insights and guidance through advisory services, as well as spiritual teachings which take the form of private workshops (one on one) & public workshops (groups).

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Melissa is a proponent of the Intentional Spaces Initiative and International Arts + Mind Lab.  A member of the Kinnernet and DLD communities and a supporter of National Museum of Women in the Arts & New York Peace Institute.

Jungian Principles and Transpersonal Psychology are core tenets of Melissa’s practice.

Her latest research is focused on antidotes to tech addiction, the restorative benefits of silence, new offline models for social cohesion.

Though mysticism & spirituality imbue all aspects of her work and daily life, hers is a neutral way, bound neither to religion or rationality, yet informed by both. 

Deeply connected to the natural world, particularly the Ocean, she surrounds herself with organic elements and is a life-long fan of surf, skateboard & punk culture.

After living/working in Paris for 15 years, Melissa is currently based in New York City where she endeavors to live authentically with gratitude and respect for all.  

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Over the course of her 30+ year career, Melissa has worked with many socially-conscious organizations, and held long-term positions at the following cultural institutions: Tribeca Productions, Disney’s Jumbo Pictures, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, artnet, and the Creative Growth Art Center.

From 1999-2004 Melissa was Vice President of Media Outreach at the legendary organization: Ad Council where she was responsible for managing partnerships with all U.S. media outlets. Her efforts helped to disseminate/expand the reach of public service campaigns created by the Ad Council. During her time there she received the Conlon Cup President’s Award for Exceptional Performance.

In the early 90’s she worked as a production manager of music videos for maverick director Ralph Ziman, and held positions on the production crew of a number of acclaimed feature films including The Age of Innocence, Quiz Show, A Bronx Tale. These endeavors offered her a masterclass in risk-taking, virtuosity and creative collaboration. During this early career period she also spent a number of years as a personal assistant, working for both Robert De Niro and Daniel Day-Lewis at the peak of their respective careers - learning myriad lessons from them - the most salient being the power of transformation and embodied expression.

Melissa began her professional journey in the late 1980’s, as an intern/studio assistant for the seminal fashion & culture photographer Patrick Demarchelier. This internship was an extension of her collegiate photography studies, initially inspired by her beloved late uncle Pierre Houlés.

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Born in Manhattan in 1967, Melissa holds a Baccalauréat degree in Philosophy from Lycée Français de New York (1985) and B.A. in English from Tufts University in Massachusetts (1989)which encompasses literary analysis, storytelling, language/linguistics and communication studies. During college, she also studied photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston under the tutelage of Professor Siegfried Halus - her focus was on Humanist and Existential visual narratives.

In her post-graduate years, Melissa has been a self-directed scholar of metaphysics, philosophy, theology, sociocultural anthropology, therapeutic practices, visionary experience & many other related subjects.

She is deeply grateful to have learned from a vast array of wonderful people in a plethora of fields and all walks of life.

Melissa is indebted to all who have engaged with her in her quest to explore the Human Condition. She holds particular reverence for the many spiritual teachers who embrace and inspire her daily through their inextinguishable energy, enduring writings and historic contributions.