2026 Archivi.ng Fellowship for Nigerian storytellers, researchers, and technologists (Deadline: 31 October, 2025)

Applications are now open for the 2026 Archivi.ng Fellowship. The Archivi.ng Fellowship is a six-month programme for storytellers, researchers, and technologists working to make sense of Nigerian history using archival materials. Fellows receive funding, mentorship, and publishing support to complete a project that informs, provokes, or inspires.

In this cohort, the program will be exploring the theme The More Things Change, a two-year inquiry into Nigeria’s recurring patterns. Whether you’re investigating policy cycles, building tools that reframe economic memory, or telling the untold stories of everyday people, your project will help illuminate how our past continues to shape the present.

Requirements

The program want ambitious, accessible projects that:

• Are rooted in archival materials, from newspapers, magazines, audiovisuals, or other sources.
• Aim to help people understand patterns and cycles in Nigerian life.
• Can be completed within 6 months, and are led by people who can take ownership and follow through. Projects where work has already begun are welcome.

Fellowship tracks

• Storytelling: For people producing compelling narratives that connect the past to the present. This can exist in any format, as long as it serves the function.
• Research: For people producing rigorous analysis and insights that help people see Nigeria differently and more clearly.
• Technology: For people building tools and bending code that turn archives into publicly usable context: timelines, interactive experiences, etc.

This fellowship is for you if you are:

• Nigerian, at home or in diaspora.
• Deeply curious about Nigerian history and have proven ability to produce rigorous research, compelling narrative or interactive tools.
• Deeply committed to producing excellent, useful, and publicly accessible work.
• Comfortable working independently, but open to collaboration.
• Digitally-savvy and fluent in online collaboration tools like Notion and Slack.

Benefits

• ₦1 million per month stipend (January – June 2026).
• At least ₦1 million in project support, paid out over the course of the fellowship.
• Access to Archivi.ng‘s archives and tools.
• Publishing, exhibition, or technical integration of your final project.
• Learning circles and peer review sessions with your co-fellows.

Selection process

There will be two stages of selection:

• In the first selection stage, projects will undergo an initial screening by a selection committee to review basic application requirements. Project proposals will be reviewed for their eligibility, alignment with our mission, the project’s ambition, and the feasibility of what can be accomplished within the six-month window.
• In the second stage, shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by a selection team, reviewing the candidates’ experience, proposed projects, commitment, and feasibility.

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