Channel Video
Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony at Roots of Resilience: Tesfaye Urgessa
January 2026
As part of the opening week of Can We Stop Killing Each Other? at the Sainsbury Centre, and to celebrate the launch of Roots of Resilience, Ethiopian artist Tesfaye Urgessa was joined by Eat Ethio, a creative studio that celebrates Ethiopia through ritual, where food, coffee, and sound are honoured as cultural ceremony.
As part of the opening week of Can We Stop Killing Each Other? at the Sainsbury Centre, and to celebrate the launch of Roots of Resilience, Ethiopian artist Tesfaye Urgessa was joined by Eat Ethio, a creative studio that celebrates Ethiopia through ritual, where food, coffee, and sound are honoured as cultural ceremony.
Together, they hosted an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, a living ritual in which coffee, conversation, and welcome are shared. Originating in Ethiopia, widely recognised as the birthplace of coffee, the ceremony is a cultural practice of community and connection.
Visitors were invited to taste, witness, and understand the profound significance of coffee-making as a moment of pause; an invitation to gather, to listen, and to be present.
Freshly brewed Ethiopian coffee was be served with buna kuris (bread traditionally shared alongside coffee). The ceremony was hosted in the round, and guests were invited to experience its three stages: abol(joy), tona (reflection), and baraka (blessing).
Click here for more information on the exhibitions within Can We Stop Killing Each Other?
Interview, filming and editing: Beatrice Prutton
