Anna Banana: 45 Years of Fooling Around with A. Banana

Meet Anna Banana at Open Space on September 19th.

Open Space and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria have partnered to present Anna Banana: 45 Years of Fooling Around With A. Banana, a retrospective of the trailblazing artist Anna Banana.

Meet her at the AGGV on Friday, September 18 at 8pm and at Open Space on Saturday, September 19 at 4pm.

Anna Banana is internationally recognized within the International Mailart Network and as a publisher of her long-standing newsletter, the Banana Rag that documents Network activities. Her interactive practices engage public participation in parodies of everyday activities such as sporting events, parade entries, and research activities.

At Open Space, Anna will present the epic Encyclopaedia Bananica, 23 tomes of banana history and pop culture. She will also launch a major exchange work, Regifting the Bananas, in character as Dr. Anna Freud Banana. All 1,158 banana items will be regifted to visitors, including toys, kitchen gadgets, clothing, jewelry, and artworks, in exchange for a catalogue form. Every object in this collection was sent to Anna from artists within the Network.

Anna Banana: 45 Years of Fooling Around With A. Banana dances at the boundaries between art and popular culture. Her work stimulates our capacity for collective creativity through participation and erases the divide between artist and audience.