Anti-Racist Project

As a peaceful protest against the racist propaganda which was distributed around schools in the community in the fall of 2020, École Beairsto and the Vernon Public Art Gallery are excited to present a collaborative social justice project as a way to speak up against hate. In the fall of 2020, hundreds of flyers on pieces of white paper with the headline ‘Wake Up’ along with a list of several web pages that promote racism and Nazism were found scattered outside several Vernon schools, leaving many parents and staff seriously concerned, shocked and saddened. The 715 self-portraits will form a rainbow mosaic of diversity that highlights the differences that make each one of us unique. The project features 715 canvases with a self-portrait of each student; an anti-racist banner that will hang outside the school; and a special mini-documentary. The workshop portion and the mini-documentary portions of the project are sponsored by the Social Planning Council North Okanagan and funded by a provincial government grant through the Resilience BC program.