West Berkeley creative space elevates underserved artists’ potential
June 10, 2025
EAST BAY EXPRESS—An empty cup invites a drink. A chrysalis is designed to be broken. A blank page awaits the next adventure. This profound sense of potential lies at the very heart of Ciel Creative Space, a sprawling, 50,000-square-foot center in West Berkeley that opened its doors in 2019. Founders Cecilia Caparas Apelin and Alexis Laurent established Ciel Creative Space as a creative hub. Far more than just studios and workspaces for photographers, videographers, podcasters and creatives, Ciel has quickly evolved into a dynamic hub for immersive events, culinary experiences and major brand activations.
Evolving its commitment to unlocking potential, Ciel Creative Space now introduces its new media arm, Ciel Media. Founded by Apelin and her collaborators Bo Carper and RomeDigs, Ciel Media aims to provide a platform for underserved artists. Its flagship offering is Ciel Sessions, a new event series designed to showcase and elevate emerging talent.
“I’ve been telling my friends that it’s an immersive experience so it’s not just a concert,” Apelin said. “It’s an immersive show highlighting up-and-coming BIPOC musicians—it’s a Tiny-Desk-times-MTV-Unplugged version for Ciel.”
Though new in its current form, Ciel Sessions’ roots actually date back to 2020. Amid quarantine mandates and social justice movements, Ciel Creative Space collaborated with Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp for a landmark livestreamed fundraiser.
This virtual concert, designed to “give back and highlight other community members” as Apelin describes it, generated $60,000 in support of The People’s Conservatory, an arts education organization for youth. Much like the immersive events Ciel hosts today, that foundational 2020 gathering highlighted talent from emerging artists, musicians and storytellers.
“What Ciel Creative Space represents in the Bay Area is literally a premier and elite facility for producers and agencies and people in that industry,” Digs said. “And now we’re creating Ciel Media to expand to another community level.”
While Ciel Creative Space boasts a history of hosting significant clients—from tech giants like Logitech, Samsung and Visa to fashion powerhouses such as Levi’s and Stitch Fix, and has welcomed figures like Stephen Curry and around 50 other Olympians—Ciel Media’s core mission is to evolve and provide crucial access to lesser-known artists.
“The idea for the sessions is to really be really intentional about the artist that we choose and kind of the experience that we create,” Carper said.
While Bay Area residency isn’t a strict requirement, artists selected for Ciel Media’s programs must, according to Apelin, possess “a strong sense of who they are as an individual and their culture and how they express that through music.” Essentially, Ciel Media seeks dedicated independent artists with a unique message who are at a pivotal stage in their careers where support can make a significant difference. For now, Ciel Media is focused on musical talent but also merges other talents within the production of events, including culinary.
Studio Zero, a roughly 2,600-square-foot venue where Ciel Sessions will take place, lies inside the block-long hub. This space, complete with its own speakeasy-style bar and lounge, was intentionally designed to be large enough to offer early career artists a significant platform, while remaining intimate enough to allow them to powerfully connect with the audience.
“We’re really looking to create a kind of unique experience for each artist,” Carper said. “It’s very costly for someone to develop their own show. The idea that somebody can come here and have a team of dedicated experts develop something special for them that’s going to complement their music and be very intentional and personalized, we think is going to be a great benefit to these artists.”
Artists walk away with more than just a performance experience; they receive essential components for a robust electronic press or media kit, comparable to those from major productions. These assets include professional photography, dynamic live videos, full event production, an updated artist biography, press releases, and potentially critical press quotes and reviews.
“Our hope and our goal is really that these artists are going to roll through here once and come back again,” Carper said, “and by the third time they probably become discovered and signed, and maybe they’re on to bigger rooms, and we want to just be part of that journey.”
On May 22 an audience packed Studio Zero as Ciel Sessions relaunched, featuring opener and returning artist from the 2020 event, Bay Area R&B artist Julissa Leilani, alongside headliner Gayathri Krishnan, a singer-songwriter known for her Carnatic-infused music. The event featured full audio/visual production unique for each artist, and food and cocktails for sale by Little Brothers Catering.
In the long run, Ciel Media and Ciel Sessions build upon the community originally established by Ciel Creative Space.
“We’re tapping our creative community,” Carper said in regards to the production of Ciel Sessions. “It’s going to be like a labor of love for people that care about music. They’re coming together to help us do something special that is really hard to find elsewhere.”
Ciel Creative Space is a one-of-a-kind offering in the Bay Area. Akin to Hollywood’s SoHo House, Ciel Creative Space fosters a local presence, drawing both elite and developing creatives.
“Having spaces like this is essential for bringing the community together,” wrote Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii in a statement to East Bay Express. “It’s especially meaningful that it’s located in West Berkeley, an area that has historically been very industrial. This space transforms a large industrial setting into a place that celebrates art, fosters creativity, and strengthens community connections.”
Jennifer Lovvorn, chief cultural affairs officer for the Berkeley Office of Economic Development, echoed this transformation and community focus. “Cecilia has been such a proactive contributor to our community and always willing to lend a hand,” Lovvorn said. “[She] thinks about creative ways to bring new economic vitality and creative thinking to Berkeley!”
Backed by Apelin’s background in marketing and inherent ability to identify and develop talent, Caper’s decades of music industry experience with tech leadership including his time at Spotify and Emmy-winning producer/director Digs’ 20-plus years in entertainment—including at Paramount—Ciel Media seems well on its way to creating lasting impact in the Bay Area.
Ultimately, Ciel Creative Space and Ciel Media serve as that inviting stage, that unwritten story—the blank canvas for the next generation of artists. Here, the profound sense of potential isn’t just felt, it’s meticulously nurtured into existence, especially for those from underserved communities who often face systemic barriers to opportunity, proving that even the most pristine beginnings are truly meant for vibrant, boundless creation.
