Bold claim: stories from Ghanaians belong in every library, not just in the margins of history. And this is how one graduate reshapes a colonial-era space to reflect local voices.
When Fowota Mortoo first visited the Keta Library in Ghana in 2024, she felt a surge of anticipation. She imagined the two-story pink building brimming with material about Keta, the small coastal town where her family is rooted. Instead, the library’s aura felt a bit hollow, and the shelves largely preserved a colonial gaze, stocked with books written from the perspective of British rule, with few works by Ghanaians or about the Eʋe people of Keta.
After conversations with the Keta librarian, Dela Odamson, and Eʋe historians, Mortoo found the spark to balance the narrative. “That’s when I began to think, ‘Could my graduate work respond to this in a useful way?’” recalls Mortoo, a master’s student in UNC Chapel Hill’s geography and environment program.
For her master’s thesis, Mortoo proposed a collaborative redesign of the Keta Library (https://www.fowotamortoo.com/keta-library-1). She engaged Eʋe artists, poets, and community members, gathered oral histories, and curated maps, texts, photographs, and other material to reframe the collection. Outside, she designed a courtyard garden featuring plants native to Keta, creating a welcoming outdoor space that echoes the town’s landscape.
Her project earned support from the National Science Foundation through a graduate fellowship program, underscoring why Mortoo’s advisor, Chérie Rivers Ndaliko, calls her an “exceptional student whose accomplishments bring prestige to UNC.” Mortoo was one of only four geography students nationwide to receive the NSF graduate fellowship. Her work has led to prestigious international residencies in Senegal and Ghana, and she was named one of 25 Young Climate Prize Awardees under 25 globally by The World Around, an architecture and design nonprofit.
A double Tar Heel (class of ’22 and ’25), Mortoo will complete her second UNC-Chapel Hill degree at Winter Commencement on December 14.
A multidisciplinary lens
Mortoo often describes three homes that shape her perspective. Although her family is Ghanaian, she grew up in New York and moved to North Carolina during adolescence. These experiences influence how she thinks about geography and the bonds between people and places.
“I’m increasingly focused on what we lose—whether language, knowledge, or cultural practices—when we relocate or when histories are erased,” Mortoo notes. “There are gains too, of course, but I’m especially concerned with preserving what’s at risk and finding ways to sustain it.”
Her geography work crosses disciplines, weaving history, architecture, ecology, and the arts—visual art, creative writing, and photography—into a cohesive approach. The Ghana project carries personal significance, offering a direct link to her family’s roots while also presenting Keta as a compelling case study in adapting to environmental and cultural change.
Decades of shoreline erosion due to climate change have reshaped Keta, pushing residents away and altering the town’s fabric. Mortoo sees a broader pattern: many coastal communities face a similar crossroads—how do we respond when the land itself is under threat, and how can we preserve identity and knowledge even as communities relocate?
“Across coastal regions, the question is the same: What happens to our identities and knowledge systems when our homeland disappears, and how do we sustain them in new places?” Mortoo asks. Her work continues to explore these questions and to seek practical, imaginative ways to keep communities connected to their histories.
Looking ahead, Mortoo plans to keep interrogating these big themes. She remains grateful for her Carolina experience and especially the mentorship from Rivers.
As she nears commencement, Mortoo reflects on the support she has received from professors, fellow students, and people in Ghana who have guided and championed the project every step of the way, acknowledging that each contributor helped move the initiative forward.
