Eliza Swann is an American artist, writer, and educator known for her work in contemporary mystical and alchemical practices. Swann is the author of The Alchemical Imagination (2026) and the founder of the Golden Dome School and its successor, the Emerald School of Alchemical Arts. She teaches literature and alchemy at Pratt Institute.
Swann’s early work included painting, poetry, and performance, incorporating symbolic systems, alchemical imagery, color theory, sound, and audience participation.[4][5][6] In 2011, she produced Baba Yaga, a video work exploring ritual and nature-based practices.[7][8] In 2014, Swann founded the Golden Dome School in Los Angeles, a project focusing on art and esoteric studies.[9][10][11] The school organized workshops and public programs with institutions including Coaxial Arts, the Feminist Center for Creative Work, the Hammer Museum, and the Philosophical Research Society.[1][12] In 2025, she founded the Emerald School of Alchemical Arts.[13][14]
Swann has written about esoteric philosophy, alchemical imagery, and the role of imagination in artistic practices.[29] Her essays have appeared in BOMB, Arthur, Momus, Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles, and Perfect Wave.[30][31][32] Her books include The Anatomy of the Aura (2020),[33]Green Mary (2024), and The Alchemical Imagination (2026).[34]
She has reviewed exhibitions for Momus, including the Whitney Museum’s exhibition Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith.[35] She has participated in the panel Oracular Visions at Emily Carr University of Art + Design[21] and co-hosted a public event on Mandy Aftel’s The Museum of Scent at the Philosophical Research Society.[20][36]
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