Where Stories Are Shared
The knowledge we gather at the Coffee Commons is not meant to be kept in a silent archive. It is meant to be shared, discussed, and experienced. Our exhibitions are dynamic platforms for storytelling, designed to bring our collection to life for a global audience, transforming passive learning into active engagement. We express this through three primary channels.
Digital Exhibitions: Our website is our primary gallery. Here, we curate immersive digital experiences that weave together elements from our entire collection. These are more than simple articles; they are journeys.
Travelling Installations: We believe in bringing the source to the world. The Coffee Commons develops physical, multi-sensory installations that travel to partner museums, universities, and major cultural events globally. These pop-up exhibitions are designed to engage the senses—smell, sight, and sound—to nurture a deeper, more human connection to the coffee in your cup.
The Annual Symposium: Our flagship event, Source Code: The Pan-African Coffee Symposium, is our largest and most vital exhibition. Held annually in Addis Ababa, it is a living exhibition of ideas. We bring together the people who are the primary sources of coffee's history and future: farmers from across the continent, African scientists and agronomists, historians, artists, and community leaders. Through panels, keynote presentations, and open dialogues, we exhibit the latest research, celebrate cultural traditions, and collaboratively map a more equitable future for African coffee. It is an active, breathing expression of the Commons in action.
