Today we’d like to introduce you to Franceasca Seiden.
Hi Franceasca, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I began my career as a fine art film photographer while interning at MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami. I graduated with a B.F.A with a concentration in black and white nudes focusing on the abstract female form focusing on curves and movement to tell their stories. After graduation I began working in one of the only contemporary fine art photography galleries in the now popular Design District, now best known as one of the epicenters of Art Basel Miami and Miami Art Week and neighbor to Wynwood with the most Murals in this country. It was noticeable that a lot of Miami born or based artists were having a harder time landing shows in our city which only had a handful of gallerists highlighting their own private collections. Galleries concentrated more on Latin American artists who didn’t reside in Miami but had connections. For this reason a lot of young Miami artists began opening up studios and their homes to host solo and group exhibits in not yet gentrified areas. Art Basel Miami Beach didn’t exist yet.
I became restless with the gallery world, I learned a vast amount of knowledge under the guidance of the curator who is now an international success. I was taught the proper submission of work which is now obsolete, how to curate work, put on an exhibit and opening and get clients in the door. Though I wasn’t satisfied and since my own work was met with a lot of opposition because of the subject matter, (I was told that my photos were too risqué when in fact they were tame, especially in today’s standards.) I wanted to expand to more open minded places that welcomed more progressive thinkers so I submitted to a group show in Los Angeles that was held at the Hyatt on the Sunset Strip across from the famed Standard LA (RIP.) I was only 21 and still in school but It would be my first show outside of Miami and my first time in Los Angeles, I flew into San Francisco and took a road trip with a friend to LA. The exhibition had a vendor feeling like nothing really hung on the walls but I didn’t care. I managed to sell a few prints and had a portfolio review with the curator and producer. His words of encouragement changed my life and my career path forever when he looked at me and said, “Have you ever thought of becoming a filmmaker?” You’re a natural born storyteller.” What he didn’t know was that a lot of my artwork was combined with original prose so when I got back home after graduation I enrolled directly into a two year MFA program with a concentration in film production.
I worked at a production house for a director, became his assistant on several features until I was thrown into a production coordinator role for an LA director and his indie film inspired by cult classic, “Kentucky Fried Movie.” I was working with some of the Jackass cast and Lee Majors, needless to say I was stoked. The LA crew taught me how film sets properly run , and not as forgiving as Miami crews. That led to keeping those contacts and continuing working on small budget movies with well known and respected actors. I began working as program coordinator at a non-profit film organization that held statewide contests for filmmakers original content based on a topic. The winners would have a gala at the end to screen their films and meet with judges from Miramax, Lionsgate, Kodak etc… My PR background became an asset as did event production. I also worked for another non-profit teaching 14 week filmmaking from development to marketing and festivals to participating high schools. I immersed myself in film while working on my MFA program in the evening.
I found myself writing more, fell in love with directing and was a natural producer. I graduated with three original shorts, six that I produced and twelve that I worked on as below the line crew. It was there I met my soon to be business partner, she was the only other girl in the whole program who had been making short form music documentaries of the origins of Miami Bass, Electro-Clash and by the time we decided to combine forces I came on as producer and EP of her third and first feature length documentary, ‘Darkbeat, an Electro World Voyage.” Darkbeat documented the origins of electro music with interviews of some of the world’s best known pioneers. The film was shot in several countries from the point of view of producers, promoters, dj’s and historians. As we were in post production getting ready to premiere we threw a huge event with some of the dj’s. As we were getting closer to the premier we built relationships with the Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival to throw events and sneak peek teasers during the festival. At this time more galleries were opening up which led us to produce screenings of other filmmakers, produce small events and start working with galleries participating in Art Basel who wanted to incorporate video art and experimental multimedia into their spaces.
We opened a boutique production company, 3GZ Productions in 2005 which allowed us to work on the documentary, launch a working relationship with Universal Music, MTV Latin America, Mundos and other promoters who hired us specifically for BTS on music videos and interviewing their artists.. We became known for being the two young women who were pushing the envelope with style and subculture and began to get recognition from the press. This also gave me the opportunity to photograph musicians and write about music for several independent magazines.
Darkbeat became an international success and went on to win several awards and screen at over twenty festivals all over the US, Europe, South America and even was used for educational purposes at University’s.
In 2008 I decided to move to Los Angeles permanently. I had a deal with a small production company to make one of my features and then the writers strike happened + the economic crash. I did temp work for a bit at studios and was actually making decent money while getting to know the city and the high end production companies and studios. It was surprisingly an easy transition since I had been coming here already. A friend who I was staying with introduced me to his girlfriend and we instantaneously hit it off, she ended up getting my foot in the door for an interview for a writer/producer position in creative services at FX Networks on the FOX lot. I ended up freelancing there for a few years until I was asked to join Al Gore’s former network, Current TV, as a writer/producer also in creative services. It was a very young MTV/VH1 vibe with original programming and frankly one of the best environments I had ever worked in. After a year the company rebranding into a new network and soon thereafter our LA department was cut with the rest of the company to follow suit.
I went back to writing for magazines and photography while writing another screenplay this time with a childhood friend who happened to be an actress. We wrote a feature and two TV pilots with bibles. Went to AFM to gather interest and management which then set us up with a company who hired us to write a feature for them.
I still had my contacts in the art world and worked with contemporary art fairs and produced large events in Miami for Art Basel. Being bicoastal quickly became exhausting so I began to cover music but also art, artists and art fairs for several publishers. It was then that I realized I had enough experience and knowledge to start my own company focusing on independent artists – interviewing them with the option to represent their brand, marketing and public relations. My connections were generous and LAiCREATIVES was born during the beginning of LA’s Art renaissance period. The city was bringing in more art fairs, clumped together, gallery opening and with that I shifted back into the art world. LAiCREATIVES lasted almost ten years.
During this time from school till present I was diligently practicing yoga and believed it subconsciously had something to do why I gravitated towards the female shape in its abstraction. I taught yoga in Miami while in school and working production but knew it was virtually impossible to do in Los Angeles with the amount of health and wellness here, plus working in production doesn’t really give you much down time. I had been practicing Buddhism about a year into living in LA and connected with the faith and organization, even becoming a young women leader in the West Hollywood district. Around 2016 I began to heavily focus on meditation, I felt a burn out coming although I didn’t know that term yet. The social aspect of my job and eventually shifting more of my business into handling a variety of clients’ social media accounts left me dizzy. I began to lean into the healing aspects of life. I noticed that strangers gravitated towards me to air out their grievances or ask for advice after only seconds after greeting them. My friend who had an entire set up of gemstone sound bowls told me to start playing as an outlet. It was a natural fit. I began holding new moon and full moon ceremonies with rituals. A lot of the energy that was coming through was surrounding trauma, this was right before the MeToo movement happened. I began a workshop called S*xual Alchemy Healing Arts (SAHA) and after a successful turnout in Los Angeles, I toured it in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Miami. I went to homes and offered private sessions, eventually I took time off and moved to San Francisco into a Yoga Ashram for 18 months to immerse myself in a 25 hour weekly program which included mandatory meditation morning and night, Agnihotri (fire ceremony) classes like yoga, qigong, breath work, Sanskrit, Satsung and Karma yoga. It was an extreme difference from living in Miami or LA. It was slow and peaceful. I began to teach yoga again, hold sound healings/baths and focus on writing for myself. I fell in love with the healing effects of breath work, specifically rebirthing breathwork and decided to become certified in it as another tool to use in healing modalities I use for clients looking to turn trauma into power.
At the end of my time in San Francisco I co-curated and helped produce a 3 day multimedia art event focusing on women’s health that included panels of doctors and sex experts. The art reflected the subject of women’s sexuality. I planned to move back to Los Angeles ready to work. I already had a podcast – “S*x, Magick and Dessert,’ that I incorporated into the LAiCREATIVES brand. I moved back to LA at the end of January 2020 and one month later we were in the beginning of a 2 year lockdown. I focused on my podcast and private healing sessions and then took off to travel.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No roads are smooth for too long. There were some amazing patches of growth along the way. Just when you think you have it down and it’s smooth sailing you hit a bump or an occasional glacier and are faced with new obstacles. The more you experience ebbs and flows in life, the more wisdom develops to help navigate each one better.
When I moved back at the end of January 2020 super stoked to get back into what I love doing storytelling, producing and creative alchemy, Covid hits mid-March! As two weeks became two years it became really hard for people in arts and entertainment AND healing practitioners were considered non essential leaving a lot of people to pivot. My issue was I’ve been pivoting for such a long time online I wanted to be hands on.
I revisited my podcast S*X, MAGICK AND DESSERT that I started along the way with LAICREATIVES & SAHA (s*xual alchemy healing arts) and began interviewing again this time without transcribing.
Though with the move and putting on the exhibit and moving only days later there was failed communication as my domain was up for renewal and I never received the email or any type of message. I went to go into my website to update it as I regularly did and it was nowhere to be found. I called the host and my domain was bought by those people who hold domains for ransom. It was heartbreaking seven years of work lost and unable to be restored unless paying a ridiculous amount of fees. Practically my entire writing and interviewing portfolio along with my business for nearly a decade was erased. Which also deleted the email address connected to it.
Then in November in 2020, my personal Instagram was hacked during one of those bitcoin schemes. Luckily people knew that it couldn’t be me posting anything that had to do with fintech and most people found it off-brand. Instagram wouldn’t do anything to help me get it back as much as I tried. (it’s still up and set to private.)
After a while of lockdown, my friend and I hit the road like many others. I traveled back to Miami for the holidays and then ended up visiting another friend in Pennsylvania, took a lovely vacation in Mexico City and spent the holidays in Miami again.
In October of 2022, my personal Facebook I had since 2008 was disabled for no reason. I had 4500 people and the limit was 5000. Media, photos, connections gone. I fought it and denied. They allowed me to download data which consisted of emojis and profile pics only. To add insult to injury, my business pages with thousands of followers, events, PR, etc… were also disabled, and because Facebook owns Instagram both of my business accounts LAICREATIVES & SAHA were also disabled without any way to dispute or get my media back.
After weeks of sulking I took myself off Facebook permanently because when I opened a new account, they questioned me for having two. I opened LAICREATIVES as ALCHEMYSTIC_ARTS and we’ve reached 7k in 3 months. At first this was a huge deal to me because I understand the importance of social numbers for clients as added value to running a business and how social media is the main way we use to reach our audiences to connect. I think I hope most of us learned in the last two years that life is really about love and connection… and always backing up your email list like I did. After a while, I felt a huge burden lifted and feel like the importance of social media is fading.
I will say though, with the time off, I did spend a lot of time in nature, camping, visiting friends in places I’ve never been, road tripping, even going out of the country – and also acquired some land in the desert.
As an independent creative and business owner for close to two decades, I know how to alchemize nada into something. And my spiritual side of me makes peace with looking at these experiences as new beginnings.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m really the most proud of overcoming personal obstacles and being able to bring people together whether in a creative setting or spending quality time together. The people I have met along the way have played an important part of everything I have set out to do and remain in my life in some way. It was never easy, it has always been exciting. The parts I love the most are when people are inspired and motivated to get involved in some way, eventually building a community. In 15 years I’ve owned 3 businesses, a production company, a magazine and a healing practice. I’ve produced countless multimedia events, art and film. I’ve learned to combine artistry with spirit. Not just mine but each individual. Being of service encouraging and inspiring healing through art (film, writing, photographs, painting etc…) on a deeper level, to create and hold space for those who need support, to understand the necessity of boundaries listening to your intuition, trusting the universe and knowing it’s okay to rest is what I am proudest of today.
Any big plans?
To continue creating and traveling. To create magick. I have a couple of projects that I’m working on, I’ve learned not to say too much on future plans. To quote the great Stevie Nicks, “I keep my visions to myself.”
I will always be involved with the arts and in entertainment whether as a producer, curator, PR/marketing, consultant, writer, director, interviews: film, tv, art and multimedia events. It’s literally ingrained in me.
On the other end of the spectrum, I continue to work as an alchemist, to harness and transmute energy in healing myself and offering it to others. To continue to grow, learn, study, and follow my passions.
For artistic, multimedia projects email me at AlchemysticArts@Gmail.com.
For private or group healing sessions like Sound Healing, Rebirthing Breathwork and energetic readings, email me S*xualAlchemyHealingArts@
You can always ask for me at Liberate Emporium in Los Feliz on Wednesdays and Fridays 10:30-3:30. Sound Baths and Energy work. Group Sound Bath held Sunday April 23rd.
All of my emails, website, etc.. are down below.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.
sexualalchemyhealingarts.com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/alchemystic_arts - Linkedin: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/ franceascaseiden - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
LAI_Creatives - Other: https://www.instagram.
com/franceascaseiden
