Tesfaye Urgessa on Roots of Resilience exhibition

We sat down with internationally acclaimed Ethiopian artist Tesfaye Urgessa, whose exhibition, Roots of Resilience (until 15 February 2026), forms part of our Can We Stop Killing Each Other? season.

Urgessa’s powerfully visceral paintings that interrogate the politics of war, race and identity.

Following a residency with the Sainsbury Centre, Urgessa unveiled a series of new paintings reflecting on the refugee crisis, which have been created in dialogue with the museum’s collection. Works investigate layered narratives of war, migration, and survival, reflecting on resilience.

Roots of Resilience refigures the human body not as broken, but as bearing dignity, defiance, and the enduring capacity to heal. The human figure reflects not only personal and collective trauma, but also our potential for empathy, endurance, and transformation.

Works from the Sainsbury Centre’s global collection, such as Pablo Picasso’s Woman combing her Hair (1906), and Henry Moore’s Mother and Child (1932), among others, serve as key sources of inspiration and resonate with Urgessa’s own practice.

Curated by John Kenneth Paranada, Curator of Art and Climate Change at the Sainsbury Centre.

Supported by Cheng-Lan Foundation and Saatchi Yates.

Interview and filming: Kate Wolstenholme & Ebi Fegha

Editing: Bea Prutton