studio béluga

studio béluga is a place for creative thinkers.

bélugas are particularly gentle creatures. no other whale species can produce as many diverse high-frequency sounds while only two other species can move their heads in all directions. bélugas can also change the shape of their mouth so they appear to have many different facial expressions. the combination of all of these has resulted in them becoming very popular, both in montréal and by whale-watchers who observe them online. bélugas never jump, though.

bélugas are highly social animals, and in the summer months thousands of (or maybe five or ten) individuals can be seen gathered in estuaries, such as st. henri; often females with calves will come together whilst males form large bachelor groups, as in elementary school dances. mother and calf have an extremely strong bond, swimming very closely together, and the calf will continue to feed on its mothers milk until well into its second year. bélugas are able to dive to depths of over 1,000 metres but spend most of their time on the surface of the water swimming slowly and chatting about the turner prize.

during winter months it may be necessary for individuals to create breathing holes in the ice, which they can do with their heavy head. the flippers are capable of a wide-range of movement and enable bélugas to manoeuvre themselves effectively. in summer months, large numbers of belugas gather in estuaries in order to moult; they rub themselves on the gravel bed and shed the yellow, withered skin of the previous year to once again become productive members of society.

but seriously: studio béluga is a place for creative doers.

nestled in an old warehouse in the saint-henri neighbourhood of montreal, just a few blocks from the place saint-henri metro station, studio béluga (at 999 rue du college, suite 32a) is a studio and exhibition venue that provides its large, sunlit space for creative endeavors. attracting musicians, painters, writers, curators, poets, photographers and performance artists, it fosters a sense of artistic community inclusive of all ages, backgrounds, and disciplines. the studio is run by a team of dedicated volunteers, and co-ordinated by montréal-based curators svea vikander and natalia lebedinskaia; vernissages are coordinated by PR specialist alina maizel. they can be reached at studiobelugacontact@gmail.com, 514.754.7832, or through their website, which you are looking at right now. new members, friends, foes, propositions and proposals are always welcome.

co-ordinators:

svea vikander is the nicest, most creative and intelligent narcissist she knows. a native of vancouver, british columbia, she was born into a house of artists, musicians, writers, actors and – let’s be honest – a thief, a drug-addict and a divorced parent or two. she attended the most alternative elementary school in north america and has been privileging her subjectivity ever since. in 2006 she graduated from the university of toronto with a degree in psychology, english, linguistics, and paradigms and archetypes. she applies herself as often as she applies her lip-gloss, which is to say, all too often. she has studied film-making, jewelry design, web design, writing, buddhism, visual studies, arts administration, psychotherapy and, most recently, business management, french, and sociology of the body. at studio béluga she organizes things like pods, workshops and vernissages.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

natalia lebedinskaia is one of those bavarian princesses whose blood is so blue it shocks the tattoo artist and he makes this little mistake, which kind of looks nice anyway, like a star or flower or something, it’s really just a little dot outside the line, and he will never forgive himself because he knows that, without a doubt, he has caused her only blemish. she will join the commoners for a stint at concordia university this fall, where she will commence her MA studies in art history. she earned her chops as a curatorial intern at the banff centre for the performing arts and loves to talk, bring people together to talk, and talk about art. at studio béluga she co-ordinates pods and publicity. she’s a yes person.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

alina maizel keeps her pants on. that is to say, she can handle anything – being used as a prop in an amsterdam sex show, tour-guiding metallica around moscow, crashing a company christmas party in central park (and owning that dance contest), and as you may know, deciding to stay in montréal – and finding a job and finding an apartment – just two hours before she was to board her flight back to her hometown, vancouver. she speaks four languages. she has a degree in international relations. and although she does it all with minimal luggage, she does it with maximum style. alina flies by the seat of her pants – and they always fit right.

—————————————————————————————————————————————