Kledia Spiro, It is already written, 2024, featuring special guest Linda Spiro, performance, Eustis Estate Museum, Milton, MA
Utilizing the beautiful Eustis Estate Museum, my mother and I welcomed guests and invited them to partake in a traditional Albanian practice: reading coffee cups.
Guests enjoyed freshly brewed Turkish coffee prepared by my mother at the estate. We then guided them through the ritual of reading the coffee grounds left in their cups. This tradition involved swirling the grounds with a bit of coffee residue to create a mud-like texture, flipping the cup upside down, and allowing the grounds to settle and form intricate patterns. After waiting 5–10 minutes, my mother revealed the symbols that emerged, offering insights into the guests’ futures.
This performance marked the debut of our live mother-daughter collaboration, blending cultural heritage with social practice. We aimed to create a space for connection, reflection, and community, intertwining the intimate nature of this tradition with the historic ambiance of the Eustis Estate. Guests were encouraged to select a cup from the sets we provided, which were brought over from Albania and passed down to my mother by her own mother. We also brought a special coffee pot, known as a xhezve, from Albania, along with a saucer for sugar.
Through this performance, we shared a cherished cultural practice while fostering meaningful moments of engagement and connection.
Photos: Joanna Tam