A promotional flyer for a collage workshop with Alyssa Vernon features a circular portrait of a smiling woman in the foreground against a dark teal background with event details and logos.

Union Gallery

General Admission

Beyond Words was created by BIPOC for BIPOC. Beyond Words aims to foster a safe and creative space centred in art healing for Queen&rsquo;s University students and members of the Katarokwi-Kingston community who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of colour. We will be using art as a tool for expression and discussion in order to help facilitate healing within our mind, body, and spirit. Art as healing is a growing movement that has a lot to offer to individuals working through emotions that can be difficult to put into words. For 2026-27, our first session is a Collage Workshop with Alyssa Vernon! MEET THE FACILITATOR Alyssa Vernon (she/her) is a Jamaican-Guyanese collage artist, educator, and arts worker living in Kingston, Ontario. Alyssa is currently a full-time student undergoing her Masters in Gender Studies at Queen&rsquo;s University, but she holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Gender Studies and a Bachelor of Education with a Social Justice concentration from Queen&rsquo;s University. Her schooling has led to her continual integration of anti-oppressive pedagogy within arts-based activism. Alyssa is the founder of the Queer Collage Collective, where she facilitates anti-oppressive, healing-centered collage programs across community organizations, schools and galleries, centering the histories and experiences of Black, racialized, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Alyssa&rsquo;s collage practice explores Black girlhood, (un)belonging, queer liberation, and community care, drawing from Black histories to imagine liberatory futures. Her art has been featured in local publications and exhibitions, including with Dr. Naila Keleta-Mae&rsquo;s Black And Free research creation project, in collaboration with King-David Olajuwon for the &ldquo;ANITA - Cranes in the Sky&rdquo; exhibit at Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, and in classrooms across the Limestone District School Board. Alyssa recently served as Program Administrator at Cultivate Art Commons and is an Occasional Teacher with the Limestone District School Board.

Beyond Words was created by BIPOC for BIPOC. Beyond Words aims to foster a safe and creative space centred in art healing for Queen’s University students and members of the Katarokwi-Kingston community who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of colour. We will be using art as a tool for expression and discussion in order to help facilitate healing within our mind, body, and spirit. Art as healing is a growing movement that has a lot to offer to individuals working through emotions that can be difficult to put into words. For 2026-27, our first session is a Collage Workshop with Alyssa Vernon! MEET THE FACILITATOR Alyssa Vernon (she/her) is a Jamaican-Guyanese collage artist, educator, and arts worker living in Kingston, Ontario. Alyssa is currently a full-time student undergoing her Masters in Gender Studies at Queen’s University, but she holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Gender Studies and a Bachelor of Education with a Social Justice concentration from Queen’s University. Her schooling has led to her continual integration of anti-oppressive pedagogy within arts-based activism. Alyssa is the founder of the Queer Collage Collective, where she facilitates anti-oppressive, healing-centered collage programs across community organizations, schools and galleries, centering the histories and experiences of Black, racialized, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Alyssa’s collage practice explores Black girlhood, (un)belonging, queer liberation, and community care, drawing from Black histories to imagine liberatory futures. Her art has been featured in local publications and exhibitions, including with Dr. Naila Keleta-Mae’s Black And Free research creation project, in collaboration with King-David Olajuwon for the “ANITA - Cranes in the Sky” exhibit at Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, and in classrooms across the Limestone District School Board. Alyssa recently served as Program Administrator at Cultivate Art Commons and is an Occasional Teacher with the Limestone District School Board.

Union Gallery

Beyond Words BIPOC Art Series | Collage Workshop with Alyssa Vernon

101 Union St

General Admission

Free

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