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: The 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 with she considers spiritual imagery 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.

Over the course of her 30+ year career, Melissa has worked with and consulted for many renowned creative & socially-conscious organizations including Tribeca Productions, Disney’s Jumbo Pictures, Ad Council, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, artnet, and the Creative Growth Art Center. Early in her career she was the personal assistant to Robert De Niro and Daniel Day Lewis. She was also a founding member of the ephemeral collective HELLO, MY NAME IS BILL which conceived & hosted a series of unusual underground happenings in Paris during the early aughts.

In addition to her work with Seymour Projects and her own creative practice, Melissa currently 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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A self-directed scholar, Melissa spent decades exploring metaphysics, philosophy, theology, sociocultural anthropology, therapeutic practices, altered states of consciousness, visionary experience & many other related subjects.  

Jungian principles, Transpersonal psychology, Intuitive Art and Intentional Design are core tenets of her practice.

Melissa’s latest research delves into a plethora of psychosocial topics, including: antidotes to tech addiction, the restorative benefits of silence, new offline models for social cohesion.

She 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.

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.

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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