Project Rode Kool
An illustrated map created for ‘Project Rode Kool – Rode kool als gids door Goudse grond‘, a citizen science and community art project by Johanna Weggelaar (Stichting Pollen) and Kristof Vrancken (KU Leuven). Twenty-three residents of Gouda grew red cabbage plants at different locations across the city; the variations in colour and size upon harvest revealed the pH and composition of the soil beneath each growing spot, turning a vegetable into a scientific instrument.
The map plots all planting locations alongside their cabbage’s colour and height relative to the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP), making the project’s data visually accessible for exhibition visitors. The work sits at the intersection of food history, urban ecology, and participatory science: themes that run through most of my illustration practice.
The exhibition ran at kunstcentrum De Firma in Gouda from November–December 2025.
Project details
Scope: Commission · Client: Stichting Pollen · Format: Exhibition map / illustrated infographic · Medium: Digital with hand-painted textures
- Data visualisation for citizen science project
- Illustrated city map integrating scientific and geographic data
- Exhibition context: community art and urban food research
Looking for an illustrator for a science, nature, or community project?
Anna Lena Illustrations 