GO BANANAS: CRAZE, CULTURE & OBJECT POLITICS

The course will focus on the object politics of the Banana within global culture. The Banana has held significant cultural presence as a symbol of power, wealth, and desire, often reflecting the dynamic and complex global politics of exploitation. Through the cultural transformation of the Banana over time, this course aims to explore the social, economic, and political conditions driving each transformation. Themes will include empire and colonialism, capitalism and labor, the racial imaginary, gender and sexuality, and the politics of aesthetics. Throughout the course, participants will engage with multimedia materials to explore references to the Banana and reflect on its sociopolitical and cultural impact in a given place and time. The course will include selected guest speakers: artists, organizers, and cultural workers, who engage with alternative narratives to the Banana to reorient its symbolism into a politics of liberation. The course will culminate in a final group project tasked with identifying a contemporary cultural object, contextualizing it within the current politics of oppression, and building a counter-narrative that reorients it toward a politics of liberation. The course is co-facilitated by Walae Hayek and Alexandra Paul Zotov.
Thursdays, 7-9 PM EST (4-6 PM PST)
​Online on Zoom
120 minute sessions, 5 weeks
February 5th - March 5th, 2026
$125 - $375 Tuition
Select scholarships and solidarity rate discounts available upon request.

INSTRUCTORS

Walae Hayek (wa-laa’ hi-yek) is committed to cultivating spaces that advance liberatory struggles as an organizer, public health practitioner, and cultural worker with many years of experience in advocacy, public policy, and cultural placemaking. In 2020, she founded and continues to lead ROYA, a nonprofit organization focused on arts and culture as liberatory praxis. Walae has served as an advisor to community organizations and cultural projects, most recently as the City of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture (MOAC) and Boston Art Review's advisor for Un-Monument. Walae has also developed and facilitated events on civic engagement, public advocacy, and cultural placemaking, including guest presentations at Boston University School of Public Health and Tufts University.

Alexandra Paul Zotov is dedicated to advancing civic expression in public spaces by bringing people and culture together through participatory digital and physical initiatives. Her research driven practice creates frameworks for access and collaboration that expand the perception of what the role of culture can be in our everyday lives. With experience across institutions such as the City of Boston, Parrish Art Museum, Creative Time, and Elite Model Management, Zotov crafts programs and policies that amplify the connection and impact between creativity and the public. Her independent work has appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, NOWNESS, among others. In her free time, she writes.​
Image credit: Props used in the Guerrilla Girls’ actions: plastic gun, bananas, and gorilla fingers with nail polish. The Getty Research Institute, 2008.M.14. Copyright © Guerrilla Girls, courtesy guerrillagirls.com