Evolution & Experience

Prior to founding Seymour Projects and focusing on her own practice, Melissa worked with a wide variety of individuals and organizations.

She has 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.

Melissa began her professional journey in the late 1980s as a studio assistant to fashion and culture photographer Patrick Demarchelier, this internship was an extension of her formal photography studies and influenced by her late uncle, photographer Pierre Houlés.

In the early 1990s in London & Los Angeles, she worked as a production manager on music videos for director Ralph Ziman. Soon after, back in NYC, she held various production crew positions on feature films including The Age of Innocence, Quiz Show, and A Bronx Tale. During this decade, she also spent several years as a personal assistant for award-winning actors, working first with Daniel Day-Lewis, and later Robert De Niro.

During her time at Jumbo Pictures in the mid 90s, Melissa came into contact with Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero, this interaction introduced her to the practice of using creative/artistic tools to shape behavior and spark social change. In pursuance of further learning, she applied and was successfully admitted to the Masters Degree program at Columbia University School of Social Work, but chose instead to gain public service experience outside of academia..

From 1999-2004 Melissa was Vice President of Media Outreach at the Ad Council a U.S. non-profit organization known for its landmark public service campaigns. During her tenure, she was responsible for managing national partnerships with U.S. media outlets including television, radio, print and outdoor in an effort to expand the reach of these pro-social messages. In recognition of her contributions, Melissa received Ad Council President Peggy Conlon’s Award for Exceptional Performance.

From 2004-2006, Melissa was Manager of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris. At this prominent international contemporary art gallery, she was tasked with guiding the team, upgrading efficiency of operations, and supporting the presentation of large-scale exhibitions which placed her in dialogue with a wide range of prominent artists. These types of creative conversations later extended to a series of one-on-one video interviews conducted during her time working for artnet.

From 2009 to 2011, just prior to her founding of Seymour Projects, Melissa was a freelance production, marketing and communications consultant for individuals in the arts, cultural organizations, and creative brands such as: Galerie Christian Berst, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, Vingt Paris, and many more.

In the early 2000s, Melissa was also a founding member of the Paris-based ephemeral special events collective HELLO, MY NAME IS BILL through which she co-conceived and co-hosted a series of underground creative experiential happenings.

Education

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, linguistics and communication studies. Melissa also studied photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, her focus was on Humanist and Existential visual narratives.

Born in Manhattan in 1967, Melissa has since balanced her life between France and the United States.