Black Venus | Museum of the African Diaspora | April 5–Aug 20, 2023

Black Venus

April 5–August 20, 2023
Multimedia Exhibition
Curated by Aindrea Emelife
Image: Renee Cox. Miss Thang, 2009 and Ayana V. Jackson. The Rupture was the Story, 2019. MoAD (street view), San Francisco.

Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)
685 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA  94103
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Overview

MoAD’s current show, Black Venus, features 21 artists exploring the complexities of Black womanhood.

They include: Alberta Whittle, Amber Pinkerton, Ayana V. Jackson, Carrie Mae Weems, Carla Williams, Coreen Simpson, Deana Lawson, Deborah Roberts, Frida Orupabo, Ming Smith, Kara Walker, Maud Sulter, Lorna Simpson, Renee Cox, Sadie Barnette, Shawanda Corbett, Tabita Rezaire, Taiye Idahor, Wangechi Mutu, yétúndé ọlágbajú, Zanele Muhol.

The works in Black Venus examine sensitive subjects such as the historical objectification of Black women’s bodies; navigating the paradox of Western and Black beauty standards; and what it means for her to exist in today’s modern world. The show is curated by Aindrea Emelife, the Nigeria-British writer, historian, and newly appointed curator for the anticipated Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Nigeria.

Many of the works in Black Venus project the 7 female archetypes: Mother, Maiden, Lover, Mystic, Huntress, Queen, Sage. At different times in our lives, and particularly during challenging ones, we may take on these roles—trading one for another, finding ourselves in unfamiliar territory—which in turn forces us to expand and grow.

Black Venus is an energy. She’s x-ray vision in black. I could feel her watching me as I perused her show, a story of her becoming. Her vulnerabilities waned as she faced her oppressors stone faced and sometimes—with a smile. I understood that smile. It’s the smile that says, “revenge is sweet.”

Black Venus is accompanied by To Sit a While by Alison Saar (May 1, 2023 close); Ramekon O’Arwisters: Freeform and Razor-Sharp (June 11, 2023 close); Nimah Golbir’s Holding Space (August 20, 2023 close); and Old Roots, New Leaves (August 20, 2023 close), the first of MoAD’s new teens exhibition series.

💌 Did you see the show? What did you think? Let us know in the comments (in the Reviews section located on the second tab at the top of the page).

QUICK GUIDE: Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)

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Author: ALoveLettertoArt