Project Wollo

Through her project Wollo and the digital community City Life Accra, Ghanaian copywriter and illustrator Aku Addy is transforming social listening into civic storytelling, one conversation, one illustration and one neighbourhood at a time.

Denyse Gawu-Mensah

Have a look at the stamps above, and you will recognise the city immediately. Spintex lined with furniture stores, Labone where a new restaurant seems to appear every Monday, and Adenta marked by its long struggle for running water. These are not random observations. They are part of Wollo, a growing visual archive of Accra built from humour, empathy, and curiosity.

“I have always been geared towards community-aiding projects,” says Aku Addy, who spent more than a decade working in advertising and now as a side project, has turned her attention to her illustrating her city. “As a copywriter, a big part of my work was just taking notes of things that happen around you and internalising it. You might not need it immediately, but it always comes in handy.”

What began as a few witty motivational cards, her first Wollo creations, has evolved into an ongoing conversation about Accra itself. Her map and stamp collections transform the everyday into symbols of civic life, reflecting how Ghanaians live and imagine their city. “These are social commentaries,” she says. “I care about the city I live in. I want it to benefit the people who actually live here.”

The response has been lively. Visitors to her exhibitions often challenge her depictions, insisting their towns are missing or misunderstood. She welcomes the debate. “People tell me, ‘This isn’t the best representation of my town,’” she says. “And that’s exactly the point. It’s supposed to spark dialogue.”

That dialogue now reaches far beyond design. On her website, shopwollo.com, a form invites the public to suggest what should be represented. Members of Parliament and local officials have also begun to take notice. “It should make them think: if this map remained at the end of my term, what would my constituency be known for? How could it be represented more positively?”

In Aku’s hands, illustration becomes civic engagement. What results is more than art; it is a social document, a map that captures the language and rhythm of the city itself.

“I care about conversation,” she says. “I care about how to make this city work better for the people who live in it.”

Buy designs on posters, T-shirts, stationery and more at shopwollo.com.