VCU James Branch Cabell Library
Anna Banana collection
Banana, Anna, 1940-
M 385
/repositories/5/resources/197
0.42 Linear Feet
.42 linear feet
1975-2003
English.
Arrangement
The collection has been divided into three groups: artist's bibliographic materials, newsletters, and published articles on Anna Banana.
Access Restrictions
Collection open for research.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of one box of thirty-one folders, which contains Anna Banana's extensive curriculum vitae, bibliographic materials, stamp designs from 1988-2002, selected newsletters from Banana Rag and Artistamp News, as well as reviews from various artists.
Preferred Citation
Anna Banana Collection, Collection Number M 385, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Rebecca Dobyns.
Biographical / Historical
Anna Banana (b. 1940), formerly Anne Lee Long, is a visual and performance artist from Canada. Since the 1970s, she has been a major contributor and innovator of mail art. For over 30 years, she has been part of the International Mail Art Network (IMAN), an art exchange program that involves artists from all over the world. She has also published extensively on art related topics, including a newsletter called Banana Rag (1971-1991), which she converted into Artistamp News (1991-1996). In addition to her work with mail art, Anna Banana is also a performance artist. Her stage performances have included Dada and Futurist scripts as well as conceptual performances.
Ownership and Custodial History
The Anna Banana Collection was compiled by a former VCU Special Collections and Archives intern, Rebecca Dobyns, in 2004. The stamps in the collection are also a gift sent directly from Anna Banana.The papers were collected by Dobyns as part of a book art project called To and From: Davi Det Hompson Correspondents. Her research was included in her master's thesis entitled "The Postcard Art Project."
Mail art.
Artists -- Canada
Banana, Anna, 1940-
Artist's Bibliographic Materials/repositories/5/archival_objects/48415n.d., 1988-2003, 20071Back Issues of Mail Art Publications Still Available from Banana Productions/repositories/5/archival_objects/48418n.d.1Curriculum Vitae/repositories/5/archival_objects/48419October 20031Miscellaneous Advertisements/repositories/5/archival_objects/484201994-20031Selected Bibliography/repositories/5/archival_objects/48421n.d.1Stamp Collection/repositories/5/archival_objects/484221988-20021Transportable, Berlin Exhibition Brochure/repositories/5/archival_objects/48423April 13-May 11, 20031To and From: Devi Det Hompson Correspondents, taken from Special Collections and Archives website/repositories/5/archival_objects/48424July 30, 20071Newsletters/repositories/5/archival_objects/484161987-90, 1993-96, 2003-041Artistamp News, Vol. 3, no. 1-2/repositories/5/archival_objects/48425February 19931Artistamp News, Vol. 4, no. 2/repositories/5/archival_objects/48426October 19941Artistamp News, Vol. 5, no. 1/repositories/5/archival_objects/48427June 19951Artistamp News, Vol. 6, no. 1/repositories/5/archival_objects/48428February 19961Banana Rag, No. 19/repositories/5/archival_objects/48429January 19871Banana Rag, No. 20/repositories/5/archival_objects/48430April 19871Banana Rag, No. 21/repositories/5/archival_objects/48431September 19871Banana Rag, No. 22/repositories/5/archival_objects/48432March 19881Banana Rag, No. 23/repositories/5/archival_objects/48433August 19881Banana Rag, No. 24/repositories/5/archival_objects/48434December 19881Banana Rag, No. 25/repositories/5/archival_objects/48435May 19891Banana Rag, No. 26/repositories/5/archival_objects/48436October 19891Banana Rag, No. 27/repositories/5/archival_objects/48437February 19901Banana Rag, No. 31/repositories/5/archival_objects/48438June 20031Banana Rag, No. 32/repositories/5/archival_objects/48439July 20041Published Articles on Anna Banana/repositories/5/archival_objects/484171975, 1990, 1998-2000, 2002-031"The Banana Olympics" in San Francisco Bay Guardian/repositories/5/archival_objects/4844019751Rubberstampmadness, Vol. II no. 51/repositories/5/archival_objects/48441May/June 19901"She's Going Bananas Over Private Stamps" in British Columbia Talks Business, Vol. 3, no. 1/repositories/5/archival_objects/4844219901"It's Not So Easy Being Yellow," in The Globe and Mail/repositories/5/archival_objects/48443August 20, 19981"Special Delivery Brings Mail Art" in The Georgia Straight/repositories/5/archival_objects/48444October/November 19991National Post/repositories/5/archival_objects/48445April 25, 20001"Banana Art" in Times Colonist/repositories/5/archival_objects/48446October 7, 20001"Mail Art and Postal Art; the Difference in the Intention," by Anna Banana/repositories/5/archival_objects/48447March 20021"Anna Banana Visits York House!" in The Blackwatch/repositories/5/archival_objects/48448November 20031