Alice Diop Stages Black Venus at Vienna Festival

Alice Diop presents “The Voyage of the Black Venus” at the Vienna Festival, performing a text by Robin Coste Lewis at the Schauspielhaus. The production addresses the near absence of Black women in art history and major museum collections. When present, these women often appear in serving roles or as decoration, not as central figures.

Lewis’s 2015 book, Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems, informs the stage work. The production suggests that the historical focus on pale figures like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus reflects both a male gaze and a colonial perspective.

The article does not detail how Diop stages Lewis’s text or what specific theatrical elements are included. It remains unclear how the production expands upon the themes presented in the original book and poem. The work continues to explore representation within art history.