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

Photo: Jacquelyn Bortolussi

“Everyone can relate to a banana.” –Anna Banana, 2015

ARTIST: Anna Banana
EVENT: Anna Banana: 45 Years of Fooling Around with A. Banana
PLACES: Open Space, 510 Fort Street, 2nd floor
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1040 Moss Street

PROGRAMMING AT OPEN SPACE:

RESIDENCY:Saturday, September 19- Saturday, October 24, 2015
OPENING: Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 4:00pm
EXHIBITION: Saturday, September 19- Saturday, October 24, 2015
ARTIST'S TALK: Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 2:00pm
CLOSING EVENT: Saturday, October 24, 2015 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
ADMISSION: By donation

PROGRAMMING AT AGGV:
OPENING: Friday, September 18, 2015 at 8:00pm
EXHIBITION: Saturday, September 19- Sunday, January 3, 2016
MAIL ART WORKSHOPS: Sat., October 14 at 2:00pm; Thur., October 22 at 7:00pm; Sun., November 8 at 2:00pm
URBANITE: Friday, November 6 at 8:00pm

ADMISSION: Adults: $13, Senior/Student: $11, Youth: $2.50

UPDATE: Even after Anna Banana's lively regifting process we can say: "Yes, we still have bananas!" There are plenty of lonely banana items waiting to be claimed as part of Anna Banana's interactive project, Regifting the Bananas. There are also 20 unique items to be disbursed through a draw on the final day of the retrospective, Saturday, October 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The AGGV's Anna Banana exhibition continues to January 3, 2016.

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.

For more information:

Regan Shrumm
Curatorial Assistant
250.383.8833
reganshrumm.openspace@gmail.com

Also see:

Program Supporters: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, British Columbia Arts Council, British Columbia Community Gaming Grants, Canada Council for the Arts, Canada Summer Jobs, Capital Region District, Young Canada Works, Victoria Foundation, City of Victoria, Opus Art Supplies, Speedpro Signs

Photo: Anna Banana in Bastion Square, Victoria in 1971

Photo: Jacquelyn Bortolussi