Sea & Studio

The UNITED Theatre and Mystic Aquarium present Sea & Studio, a one-of-a-kind gallery showcase that brings together six local artists with animal counterparts to reflect a belief shared by both institutions: creativity is not uniquely human. 

For this collaboration, artists Josh Behan, Katie Fogg, John Tedeschi, Regina Linke, Elizabeth Ellenwood, and Westerly High junior Lillyana Isbell each visited Mystic Aquarium to experience the creative enrichment programs used with the aquarium’s resident belugas, California sea lions, harbor seals, cow nose rays, and African penguins. Their encounters form the heart of this exhibition. Original pieces from each artist will be displayed alongside paintings made by the animals themselves, accompanied by video and information on each pairing, each artist, and the enrichment programs that made it possible.

An OPENING reception will be held on Friday, June 5th from 6-8pm. 

At Mystic Aquarium, activities like animal painting are used as enrichment tools that promote stimulation, engagement, and well-being. At the UNITED, we see every day how the arts invite curiosity, learning, and connection. Sea & Studio brings these two worlds together.

The show will be on display from Friday, June 5th through the end of August. The opening evening on June 5th will include a public gallery reception from 6-8pm which will also feature a presentation by Jesse Ciletti, Senior Trainer of Cetaceans at Mystic Aquarium, titled Training Imitation of Novel Sounds in a Beluga Whale. Jesse will share the remarkable story of Juno, Mystic’s male beluga whale, whose spontaneous mimicry of environmental sounds led to a training process designed to encourage vocal imitation on cue. The work offers a window into the cognitive depth and extraordinary vocal abilities of beluga whales, and speaks to the broader ways enrichment activities at Mystic Aquarium support animal wellbeing while deepening public understanding of marine life and conservation.