Italian visual artist Franz Cerami has unveiled Jute Portraits, a multimedia art project celebrating the people behind Kenya’s coffee value chain, as part of the 80th Italian National Day celebrations in Kenya.
The project, supported by the Embassy of Italy in Kenya, the Italian Cultural Institute and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), uses art to showcase the human stories behind one of Kenya’s most important agricultural exports while strengthening cultural and economic ties between Kenya and Italy.
Bringing Coffee Workers into the Spotlight
Cerami travelled across Kenya in March, photographing nearly 300 individuals working throughout the coffee value chain, including farmers, processors, scientists and other industry players.
The photographs were transformed into a multimedia installation using photography, watercolour, graphite and digital painting techniques, creating vivid portraits that place coffee workers at the centre of the story.
“Behind every cup of coffee are many hands and many stories,” Cerami said. “There are people who work the land, people who harvest the coffee, people who shape the flavour, people who process it, and people who carry it through the value chain. This project is my journey through Kenya, through its people, roads, coffee and colours.”
Coffee as a Cultural Bridge Between Kenya and Italy
The project draws inspiration from the shared coffee heritage of Kenya and Italy. While Kenya is renowned globally for producing premium coffee, Italy is celebrated for its rich coffee culture and innovation.
According to Cerami, Jute Portraits shifts attention from the final cup of coffee to the people whose labour, expertise and resilience make it possible.
The title of the exhibition references the jute bags traditionally used to transport coffee but also symbolises the journey Kenyan coffee takes from farms and communities to international markets and cultural spaces.
Cultural Diplomacy at the Heart of Bilateral Relations
Speaking during the launch, Italy’s Ambassador to Kenya and Seychelles, H.E. Vincenzo Del Monaco, said Italy’s National Day provides an opportunity to celebrate the depth of relations between the two countries through culture, creativity and people-to-people connections.
“With Jute Portraits, we are celebrating the joy and, in a positive sense, the craziness of art,” Ambassador Del Monaco said. “We are bringing colour, music, light and human stories into public spaces. For me, this is one of the most beautiful sides of diplomacy, bringing people together without asking for anything in return. It is not transactional. It is not political. It is simply the joy of art and the immense power of human connection.”
He noted that coffee represents one of the strongest links between Kenya and Italy, combining Kenya’s excellence in coffee production with Italy’s globally recognised coffee culture.
“Coffee is not just a beverage. It is an economic story, a cultural story and a human story. Behind every cup of coffee there is a supply chain, and behind every supply chain there are human beings,” he said.
Celebrating 80 Years of the Italian Republic
The ambassador said this year’s National Day celebrations are particularly significant as Italy marks the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic.
He explained that the celebrations focus on culture as a defining element of Italian identity and a key driver of international engagement.
“Cultural diplomacy is not an ornament to economic diplomacy. It is a catalyst,” he said. If we want the Italy–Kenya relationship to be resilient, we must go beyond government-to-government relations. We must reach communities, students, artists, farmers, entrepreneurs and families.
Taking Kenyan Stories to the Global Stage
The project is expected to extend beyond its public installations in Kenya to major cultural and institutional platforms, including the UNIDO headquarters, the National Museums of Kenya, the Ministry of Culture, and the new United Nations Office at Nairobi facility.
The expansion will give Kenya’s coffee workers increased visibility on national and international stages.
For Kenya’s creative sector, Jute Portraits represents a significant moment of artistic collaboration and cultural exchange, placing Kenyan communities and agricultural heritage at the centre of a contemporary international art project.
The initiative also aligns with Kenya’s efforts to increase agricultural value addition, strengthen creative industries and expand strategic international partnerships.
Through coffee, art and storytelling, Jute Portraits presents Kenya not only as a producer of world-class coffee but also as a country rich in creativity, dignity, talent and cultural heritage.