Artbeat Studio Inc

12/19/2025

THE ROYAL ALCHEMY closes for in-person viewing today at 5 pm, but that doesn't mean you've completely missed your chance after today.

See the show online and even purchase pieces until December 27 at the-royal-alchemy.square.site (link in our description).

[ID: A screen capture of the Royal Alchemy website, a drop-down menu includes all the artist's names over a page showing the title of the show from the poster.]

12/18/2025

Tomura Johnson is a Winnipeg-based artist whose work transforms inner chaos into clarity. From a young age, he found comfort in drawing, repeatedly tracing Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII until the familiar lines became their own. Anime, video games, and storytelling have remained steady influences; creative worlds that have shaped him, grounded them, and at times, helped save him.
Tomura’s practice centers on anime-inspired self-portraits rendered through graphite, coloured pencil, paint, and words. Writing, poetry, fragments, narrative sparks, is essential to their visual language. His work blends imagery and text to articulate emotions that resist easy explanation, helping them translate overwhelm into forms he can understand. For Tomura, art is both a grounding force and a way to make sense of the world inside and around them.

Throughout his life, Tomura has been aware of his system: complex, challenging, and also a source of creativity and resilience. Art became the primary way the system communicated, evolving from chaotic signals into connection and clarity. During his Artbeat residency, following a challenging season that affected the entire system, they found space to process, reorganize, and grow. These months brought stability, clearer roles, improved communication, and major “glow-ups” among the main hosts, allowing him to reclaim confidence, ambition, and excitement for life.

Tomura hopes viewers feel seen and validated through their work: that their stories matter, and that it is always okay to not be okay. And if the only thing that gets you out of bed is picking up a pencil—then pick up the pencil. Do the thing that keeps you alive.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/18/2025

Victoria McFarlane is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative roots stretch back to early childhood in Winnipeg, where she spent her days at her Grandma Marie’s daycare drawing "The Groovy Girls” comic books for her friends. A lifelong creator, she has always felt most at home in artistic spaces, excelling in any form of expression – from illustration and language arts to baking.

Her practice today is grounded in mixed media, with a deep focus on acrylic painting, digital work, and, most recently, clay. During her artist-residency, clay became a transformative medium for her – an imminent, hands-on way to shape full stories and feel their impact in real time.

Victoria’s work is driven by her identity as a tri-racial, q***r woman of colour and by the realities of navigating the world through a neurodivergent lens. Culture, spirituality, and lived experiences of joy, resilience, love, as well as social injustice form the backbone of her art. Even when a piece isn’t explicitly about neurodivergence, she considers it inherently neurodivergent – an extension of how she receives and processes the world.

Her creative process is intuitive, nonlinear, and deeply connected to the people who inspire her, especially her mom, dad, brother, partner Bolade, and the communities she has served through frontline work. Through pieces like “Ni**as Can Meditate, Ni**as Can Levitate,” she explores not only histories of harm but also abundance of light, life, and liberation.

Victoria hopes viewers walk away from her art with a different perspective because, to her, experiencing life through another person is the key to universal empathy. Her time at Artbeat shifted how she views art, success, and herself, shaping how she moves through the world as an artist.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/18/2025

ALL SITES ARE CLOSED TODAY DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER

We encourage everyone to have a cozy day at home. Stay warm, safe, and comfy.

We'll see everyone again tomorrow!

12/17/2025

Sandy Cohen is a Winnipeg-based mixed media artist whose creative journey began in early childhood, shaped by the guidance of his mother, a trained fine artist. Growing up in River Heights, he took every opportunity to learn; through school art programs or youth classes at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. While some kids gravitated toward sports or band, Sandy found his place in art. It became both a passion and a powerful tool for calming his mind, offering relief from anxiety and a healthy alternative to more harmful coping strategies.

Sandy’s current practice centers on experimentation, particularly through paint pouring and mixed media. What began as therapeutic sessions with his counselor at St. Rose, evolved into a playful and exploratory process. Inspired by online videos and curiosity, he often begins with a specific idea only to let the piece transform into something entirely unexpected. He works quickly and intuitively, and he isn’t afraid to return to a finished piece and change it—embracing the fluid, evolving nature of his art.

Music is a major influence, especially bands like Blink-182, shaping both his mood and the energy of his work. His high school art teacher also played a key role in his confidence and artistic growth.

Sandy is especially proud of completing the Artbeat residency, a goal long encouraged by those around him. The experience surprised him with its sense of harmony and community, teaching him new ways of being with others. Through his art, he hopes viewers discover the power of shifting perspectives—seeing how one piece, like life itself, can hold many possible interpretations.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/17/2025

Shelby James found her way into art in an unexpected moment while living in Nunavut in her early twenties. With no local metal bands to go see, she picked up a magazine one day and decided to draw something from it - just for fun. That small spark turned into her ongoing creative passion.

Shelby’s drawings focus on people - especially women and families - capturing them in their happiest, most natural moments. She loves portraying connection and togetherness; the kind of genuine warmth that reminds us of the people we love. Each piece can take her between twenty and thirty hours to finish, a process she approaches with patience and care.

Family and music are two of Shelby’s biggest influences, both fueling the emotion and rhythm behind her work. Over time, her art has reached some of the people she’s drawn—from local sports figures to musicians in her favorite bands—moments that have been both exciting and affirming for her as an artist.

During her six-month artist residency, Shelby has continued to explore how art can express joy, belonging, and everyday beauty. More than anything, she hopes her work makes people feel happy—and reminds them to appreciate the people and moments that make life meaningful.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/17/2025

Art creates connection—and community supports well-being.
In our December Artbeat newsletter, we’re celebrating our biannual show, sharing ways to stay creatively connected over the holidays through Studio Central, and marking our 60th newsletter edition 🎉
Take a moment to explore the stories, art, and care that make Artbeat what it is.

https://conta.cc/48LDm8o

Email from Artbeat Studio Our biannual show, Studio Central holiday schedule, and moments of connection background artwork by Stephanie Phillips from Artbeat 2025 Calendar Photo by Kevin Grummett; edi

12/16/2025

Margarita Carias is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, storyteller, and founder of Carias Collective. Of Mexican and Salvadoran heritage, she proudly identifies as a Latina artist. After a 25-year corporate career, Margarita’s life shifted dramatically; during a period of personal crisis and hospitalization, art emerged as her lifeline. What began as a search for grounding became a path back to her roots, her body, and a renewed sense of belonging.

Her artistic practice is intertwined with mental health advocacy, drawing on her lived experience to create spaces of healing and connection. Working across acrylic painting, photography, clay, glass, mosaic, crafts, and found materials, Margarita embraces a “try everything” ethos. Her evolution from darker, monochromatic pieces into bold, colourful mixed media mirrors her own journey of transformation, healing, and cultural reclamation.

Emotion guides her creative process: she selects materials intuitively, allowing raw feeling to shape early drafts before refining each piece into something balanced, intentional, and beautiful. Her work is informed by her lived experience—her mental health journey, the long process of healing from a lifetime of abuse, and the instability of financial crisis and divorce. Most importantly, she is guided by a deep desire to be well for her children, who inspire her to channel her energy into creation, rather than harm.

Margarita is especially proud of exhibiting vulnerable work publicly for the first time, including at MAWA—moments that affirmed her identity as an artist. Through her work, she hopes viewers feel that healing and hope are possible, and that beauty can rise from even the darkest places. Her residency at Artbeat Studio has been transformative, offering community, mentorship, and the unexpected joy of discovering clay as a powerful medium for mindfulness and self-expression.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/16/2025

Daks Senese is an experimentalist whose practice spans crochet, painting, sketching, collage, and writing. Raised in New Jersey, Daks first discovered creativity by watching his mother crochet and at six years old, he insisted on learning the craft, sparking a lifelong connection to making. Although money was limited, the support of an attentive Grade 3 teacher - who gifted Daks and his brother a box filled with art supplies - became the true beginning of his artistic journey.
Guided by curiosity, Daks explores new mediums and techniques and often collaborates with other artists to expand his skills. His writing, especially poetry, is a powerful reclaiming of voice. Themes of resilience, second chances, and rising from adversity, symbolized by the phoenix, echo throughout both his literary and visual work. Much of Daks’ art is trauma-driven, offering a vital space for processing PTSD and navigating the emotional complexities of living in the world today.

His creative process is contemplative and intuitive: ideas arrive as flashes of imagery or phrases that evolve into his artistic pieces. Influenced by loved ones, fellow artists, and global events, Daks creates as a response to the “big emotions” of life.

Daks’ milestones include publishing a McNally Robinson bestselling poetry book, Middle to Margins (2019); completing his debut novel, Psy-chick; and beginning a Fine Arts program in 2023. During his Artbeat Studio residency, Daks found unexpected community, confidence, and permission to create boldly and imperfectly.

Through his work, Daks hopes others find courage, connection, and the strength to keep going.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/15/2025

Carl Dyck is a hands-on, heart-led artist from Altona, Manitoba, whose creativity was sparked at a young age by his mom who made beautiful dolls and quilts. Watching her work with fabric and thread inspired Carl to start making things with yarn when he was just nine years old – and he hasn’t stopped creating since.

Carl’s art is full of texture, colour, and emotion. He works with yarn, paint, wood, and recycled materials, often using looms he’s built himself or just his fingers. His pieces range from scarves and blankets to paintings, bracelets, and even dollhouses. His paintings, done in acrylic paint, often reflect how he’s feeling: bright and happy when he’s in a good mood, darker and more thoughtful when life feels harder.

Much of Carl’s inspiration comes from everyday places like thrift stores, garage sales, and places like ArtsJunktion that collect and redistribute recycled things, where he loves hunting for materials that can be turned into something new. He finds meaning in giving new life to things that others might overlook.

During his six-month residency at Artbeat Studio, Carl discovered a new love for pottery and linocut printmaking, and formed lasting friendships, especially with fellow artist Alissa. What he’ll miss most are the people who understand and encourage his art. For Carl, every finished piece is something to be proud of, and he hopes people walk away from his work thinking, “Wow, that guy does good art!” His message to others is simple but powerful: never stop creating – because art saves lives.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/15/2025

Alissa Hildebrand is a mixed-media artist from Altona, Manitoba, whose love of creating began at five years old, inspired by the creativity and playfulness of Mr. Dress-Up. Growing up in a Mennonite community, she found comfort in making things by hand; cross-stitch and embroidery were her first passions, and for over thirty years, a sewing needle was never far from reach.

For much of her life, Alissa’s creativity lived within the boundaries of art kits - structured, predetermined projects that reflected how she felt inside and out: cautious, confined, and disconnected from herself and the world. Only recently has she found the courage to break free from those constraints and create with honesty, trust, and purpose. Through her time at Artbeat Studio, Alissa discovered what she calls true artistic freedom - not being chained or enslaved to anything, but allowing her art, mind, and spirit to move openly.

Her creative process, she says, is like “a ping-pong ball down a hallway;” ideas bouncing unexpectedly from one moment to the next, guided by her experiences of recovery and growth. She works with resin, beads, stones, clay, paint, wire, paper, found materials, and anything else that strikes her heart. She draws inspiration from her Métis roots, her ancestors, and the healing connection of beading circles.

Alissa is surprised and proud of showing up every day during her Artbeat residency – something that once felt impossible. One of her proudest moments came when a beaded piece was shown at Art from the Heart, and received incredibly positive feedback, breaking through years of insecurity and containment. Today, Alissa’s art, and her journey, celebrate recovery, freedom, healing, and the beauty of walking with purpose. She feels as if she’s trudging the road to happy destiny.

The Royal Alchemy: 41st biannual art exhibition runs December 15 to 19, 12 noon to 5 pm at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

[ID: A photo of the artist on a background of purple stars.]

12/03/2025

You are invited to THE ROYAL ALCHEMY: 41st biannual art exhibition! The opening is on December 12th from 7 PM to 9 PM at 4th floor - 62 Albert St.

Featuring the work of our most recent artists-in-residence:
Alissa Hildebrand
Carl Dyck
Daks Senese
Margarita Carias
Sandy Cohen
Shelby James
Tomura Johnson
Victoria McFarlane

Join us in celebrating our graduating artist's as they reveal their art to the world!

We look forward to seeing you there! Call 204-943-5194 for a stair-free entrance.

[ID: A poster announcing the details of the biannual show, in the centre a is a candlestick with a gold crown base and 8 wisps of smoke rising from the flame.]