Desta Alemayehu Bekele

Desta Alemayehu Bekele is a PhD researcher in Social Anthropology with Visual Media at the University of Manchester. His research explores everyday practices of place and belonging amid urban transformation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Combining ethnographic and visual methods, he examines how affective, sensorial, and embodied experiences shape belonging within increasingly unequal cityscapes. As both a researcher and an emerging photographer, Desta is committed to the power of visual storytelling to imagine more liveable and playful worlds—ones in which it is easier to love.