On a winter evening in London, artist Seçil Erel and I co-facilitated a two-hour workshop exploring Turkish coffee cup reading as both cultural ritual and interpretive practice.
Participants were introduced to the historical and ethnographic context of coffee fortune reading — a tradition that has long operated within domestic and gendered spaces as a form of intimacy, storytelling, and exchange. Seçil shared insights from her artistic practice, demonstrating how the abstract forms left by coffee grounds can be read through the lens of Eastern and Western visual languages, inviting multiple layers of meaning.
Following freshly prepared Turkish coffee and traditional sweets generously provided by Elit Chocolate, participants read one another’s cups in pairs. The session concluded with a collective reflection on the narratives and interpretations that emerged through this shared act of looking and listening.
The workshop centered hospitality, curiosity, and the pleasure of collaborative meaning-making, values embedded in the ritual itself.
Photography by Emma Witter. With thanks to all participants for their openness and engagement.
