Royal Coffee Exhibit Highlights Origin Photography, Supports Women's Health Nonprofit
Nine photographers from coffee-producing countries are showing work at The Crown in Oakland, with most donating proceeds to Grounds for Health, a women's health nonprofit in Ethiopia.
The Gallery at The Crown is currently hosting "Photography at Origin: A Benefit for Grounds for Health," an exhibition bringing together nine photographers who live or work in coffee-producing countries, with work on view at Royal Coffee's Oakland lab and tasting room through July 2026.
The show was born, in the organizers' own framing, "from concerns around representation, and documentation of coffee production." The curatorial logic runs deeper than aesthetics: Royal Coffee had previously assembled and published a list of photographers working at origin, hoping the coffee industry would engage directly with artists already embedded in producing communities. This exhibition is positioned as the next step in that effort.
The nine photographers, Hilina Abebe, Mahe Elipe, Viviana Peretti, Nyimas Laula, James Maina, Jimena Rodriguez Romani, Putu Sayoga, Harsha Vadlamani, and Octavio Vargas, represent a geographic range that mirrors the breadth of the specialty coffee supply chain: Ethiopia, Peru, Indonesia, Kenya, India, Mexico, and beyond. Every photo on display is available for purchase, and most of the participating artists have agreed to donate some or all of their sales proceeds to Grounds for Health, a women's health nonprofit working most notably in Ethiopia.
Evan Gilman, Creative Director at The Crown and the gallery's curator, has more than 20 years in the industry spanning roles from barista to Q Arabica Grader to SCA-Licensed AST. He spent significant time in Indonesia, moving through Sumatra, Bali, Flores, Sulawesi, and Northern Luzon in the Philippines to understand the specialty supply chain firsthand. That on-the-ground orientation clearly shapes how The Crown Gallery programs its walls: the quarterly gallery seeks artists engaging with environmental sustainability, intersectionality, and the realities of coffee production.
"Photography at Origin: A Benefit for Grounds for Health" is on view at The Crown, 2523 Broadway in Oakland, through July 2026.
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