Anna Banana

Life & Legacy

Anne Lee Long (February 24, 1940 – November 29, 2024), known professionally as Anna Banana, was a Canadian artist known for her mail art, performance art, writing, and work as a small press publisher. She has been described as an "entrepreneur and critic" who helped pioneer the artistamp, a postage-stamp-sized medium. She was prominent in the mail art network since the early 1970s, acting as a bridge between the movement's early history and its second generation. As a publisher, Banana launched Vile magazine and the "Banana Rag" newsletter; the latter became Artistamp News in 1996. Her archive of mail art-related papers is housed at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia.
Banana lived in British Columbia and operated Banana Productions, calling herself the "Top Banana". The International Art Post was the sole publication of Banana Productions, with 700 copies produced for each edition. Banana died on November 29, 2024, at the age of 84.