GAEC Africa Archivist-in-Residence 2026 in Senegal: Apply to Build a Decolonial Digital Archive in Saint-Louis

About the GAEC Africa Archivist-in-Residence Opportunity

The GAEC Africa Archivist-in-Residence programme has been established to document, organize, interpret, and digitally preserve materials connected to Groundings, a decolonial convening held in 2025.

According to the opportunity listing, the selected Archivist-in-Residence will:

• Spend one month residing in Saint-Louis, Senegal;
• Work from GAEC-Africa’s community space;
• Develop a digital archive of the 2025 Groundings convening;
• Produce an archive that is original, engaging, and rich in source material; and
• Engage meaningfully with GAEC-Africa’s student-activist community.

This is described as GAEC-Africa’s inaugural Archivist-in-Residence opportunity, meaning that the selected applicant will help shape not only the archive itself but potentially the working approach for future archival residencies and documentation initiatives.

What Is Groundings?

Groundings is identified in the call as GAEC-Africa’s 2025 decolonial convening. Although the detailed programme of the 2025 gathering is not included in the publicly accessible Rhizome summary, the wider intellectual context of GAEC-Africa’s Groundings work is rooted in decolonial thought, Black radical traditions, political economy, community learning, and the relationship between locally situated knowledge and global structures.

GAEC-Africa’s seminars and community projects have previously created spaces in which students, scholars, activists, and community members examine issues including postcolonial societies, capitalism, resistance, gender, labour, imperialism, and global Blackness. These activities seek to connect critical theory with the social, cultural, and political experiences of communities in and around Saint-Louis.

The proposed digital archive will therefore be more than a conventional collection of files. It is expected to preserve the intellectual exchanges, community participation, creative practices, discussions, and forms of knowledge production that emerged from the convening.

About GAEC-Africa

The Group of Action and Critical Study-Africa, commonly known as GAEC-Africa, is an intellectual, artistic, and community-based ecosystem founded in 2020. It brings together researchers, artists, students, activists, professionals, volunteers, community members, and critical thinkers to co-produce knowledge from Africa and the Global South.

GAEC-Africa describes itself through four interconnected identities:

1. An association of academics;
2. A critical study group;
3. An African initiative; and
4. A decolonial collective.

Its work is concerned with historical, cultural, political, epistemic, economic, racial, and social injustices. It promotes research combined with action through seminars, community workshops, advocacy, public awareness initiatives, experiential learning, curriculum development, cultural programming, and community engagement.

GAEC-Africa’s Three Main Areas of Work

GAEC-Africa organizes its activities around three principal ecosystems.

1. Centre Universitaire Panafricain et Vernaculaire

This platform concentrates on research, popular and critical knowledge, counter-archives, seminars, publications, podcasts, fellowships, and experimental approaches to knowledge production.

Its programmes seek to provide learning opportunities grounded in critical theory, Pan-Africanism, decolonial thought, and the Black radical tradition. The seminars are intended to connect academic inquiry with community experiences and create spaces where knowledge can be produced collectively rather than transferred only through conventional institutions.

2. Ndar Demb ak Tey

Ndar Demb ak Tey focuses on residencies, cultural production, exhibitions, performances, curatorial initiatives, festivals, and community events.

Its research and archiving mission seeks to reinterpret the history of Saint-Louis through oral histories, objects, memories, struggles, experiences, and accounts contributed by the city’s inhabitants. GAEC-Africa describes this work as both a dynamic oral-history museum project and a pedagogical programme concerned with the contemporary experiences of societies in the Global South.

The Archivist-in-Residence opportunity is strongly aligned with this institutional commitment to community-based archiving and the preservation of situated knowledge.

3. Black Teraanga Bloc

The Black Teraanga Bloc supports public interventions, citizen initiatives, campaigns, community mobilization, dialogues, and actions focused on hospitality, solidarity, social justice, and public engagement.

Together, these three areas connect research, art, archiving, education, activism, cultural practice, and community participation.

What Will the Archivist-in-Residence Do?

The central responsibility will be to transform the documentation of the Groundings convening into a coherent and accessible digital archive.

The listing does not provide a detailed technical terms of reference in its publicly accessible summary. However, producing the type of digital archive described in the call would ordinarily involve several interconnected stages.

1. Review and Inventory Available Materials

The resident may need to review the materials produced before, during, and after Groundings. Depending on what GAEC-Africa has collected, these could include:

• Photographs;
• Video recordings;
• Audio recordings;
• Event programmes;
• Presentation materials;
• Participant notes;
• Transcripts;
• Posters and visual designs;
• Interviews;
• Written reflections;
• Biographical information;
• Reading lists;
• Workshop outputs;
• Correspondence;
• Community testimonies; and
• Other documentary or artistic materials.

These examples illustrate the types of content that may form part of a convening archive; they should not be treated as a confirmed inventory of the materials available.

2. Develop an Archival Structure

The Archivist-in-Residence may be expected to determine how the material should be classified, described, connected, and presented.

This could involve developing:

• A clear archival hierarchy;
• Categories and subcategories;
• A file-naming system;
• Descriptive metadata;
• Contributor information;
• Chronological or thematic groupings;
• Searchable keywords;
• Contextual descriptions;
• Cross-references between related materials; and
• Guidelines for the future addition of content.

A strong digital archive should enable users to understand not only what an item is but also who produced it, why it matters, how it relates to the convening, and what historical or intellectual context surrounds it.

3. Digitally Curate the Groundings Story

The call asks for a digital archive that is dynamic, original, and material-packed. This wording suggests that GAEC-Africa is seeking more than a basic online storage folder or document repository.

The resident may need to consider how different forms of material can be combined to communicate the history and significance of Groundings. This could include thematic collections, multimedia narratives, participant profiles, timelines, annotated galleries, interactive pathways, or other approaches to digital storytelling.

The final structure should preserve the complexity of the convening without removing the voices, context, and relationships that gave the materials their meaning.

4. Engage the Student-Activist Community

Community engagement is an expressly stated component of the residency. The successful applicant will work closely with GAEC-Africa’s local student-activist community rather than developing the archive in isolation.

This engagement may help the resident:

• Understand the history and purpose of the convening;
• Identify important themes and moments;
• Obtain context for specific materials;
• Clarify names, dates, locations, and events;
• Understand how participants want their contributions represented;
• Collect additional reflections or descriptions;
• Build local archival and digital-documentation capacity; and
• Ensure that the archive reflects community perspectives.

A participatory process is especially important for a decolonial archive. Decisions regarding classification, description, authorship, access, and interpretation can determine whose knowledge is made visible and whose voice is marginalized.

Why This Digital Archive Matters

Archives are not neutral collections. The decisions made about what is preserved, how it is categorized, who is credited, and how material is accessed influence how future users understand an event, institution, or community.

The GAEC Africa Archivist-in-Residence project has the potential to contribute in several important ways.

Preservation of Community Knowledge

Events such as Groundings may generate valuable discussions, creative materials, recordings, and collective reflections. Without deliberate preservation, these materials can become fragmented, inaccessible, or lost.

A structured digital archive can protect this knowledge and make it available for future research, education, artistic practice, community organizing, and institutional learning.

Development of a Counter-Archive

GAEC-Africa’s institutional work includes the production of critical knowledge, popular knowledge, and counter-archives. A counter-archive can challenge dominant historical narratives by preserving materials, perspectives, and lived experiences that have often been excluded from conventional institutions.

The Groundings archive may therefore help document intellectual and political work from Saint-Louis on its own terms rather than filtering it exclusively through external academic or cultural frameworks.

Connection Between Local and Global Conversations

GAEC-Africa’s work is locally situated in Senegal while remaining connected to African, diasporic, and Global South intellectual networks.

A well-developed online archive could allow students, researchers, artists, activists, and community organizations outside Saint-Louis to engage with the ideas and materials generated through Groundings.

Institutional Learning

The residency can also help GAEC-Africa strengthen its internal systems for documentation, digital preservation, metadata management, consent, access, and long-term archival maintenance.

Because this is the inaugural Archivist-in-Residence programme, the resident’s methods and recommendations could potentially inform how the organization manages future events and collections.

Who Is the Opportunity Best Suited For?

The publicly accessible summary does not prescribe a particular academic degree, professional certification, age range, or minimum number of years of experience.

Based on the nature of the assignment, it appears particularly relevant to:

• Archivists and digital archivists;
• Librarians and information-management professionals;
• Digital-humanities researchers;
• Public historians;
• Curators and cultural heritage professionals;
• Documentary artists;
• Multimedia storytellers;
• Digital artists and creative technologists;
• Researchers working on African, Black, or decolonial studies;
• Oral-history practitioners;
• Museum and collection professionals;
• Web-based exhibition designers;
• Community archive practitioners; and
• Individuals experienced in participatory documentation.

Applicants do not necessarily need to fit only one professional category. The residency appears interdisciplinary and could suit someone who combines archival practice with research, artistic production, digital design, documentary work, or community engagement.

Relevant Skills for the Residency

A competitive applicant would likely be able to demonstrate several of the following capabilities:

Archival and Information-Management Skills

• Organizing physical and digital records;
• Designing archive structures;
• Cataloguing and classification;
• Creating metadata;
• Developing naming conventions and taxonomies;
• Managing multiple file formats;
• Applying digital-preservation practices; and
• Documenting provenance, ownership, and context.

Digital and Multimedia Skills

• Developing digital exhibitions or online archives;
• Working with content-management systems;
• Editing photographs, audio, or video;
• Digitizing documents and media;
• Managing large digital collections;
• Designing accessible user experiences;
• Building interactive timelines or multimedia narratives; and
• Preparing web-ready archival content.

Research and Writing Skills

• Conducting contextual and historical research;
• Writing accurate descriptions;
• Summarizing complex discussions;
• Interviewing participants;
• Fact-checking names, dates, and events;
• Developing interpretive texts; and
• Presenting academic or community knowledge in an accessible form.

Community-Engagement Skills

• Working respectfully with students, activists, artists, and local communities;
• Facilitating collaborative decisions;
• Handling sensitive or personal information ethically;
• Obtaining and documenting consent;
• Recognizing community ownership of knowledge;
• Listening to different perspectives; and
• Avoiding extractive approaches to documentation.

Understanding of Decolonial Archival Practice

Because the archive concerns a decolonial convening and will be developed within an organization explicitly committed to decolonial knowledge production, applicants should understand that archival categories and institutional practices can reproduce unequal power relationships.

Experience or demonstrated interest in African studies, Black studies, colonial history, oral history, community archives, epistemic justice, or related areas would therefore be valuable.

Residency Location and Duration

The selected Archivist-in-Residence will spend one month in Saint-Louis, Senegal, and work from GAEC-Africa’s community space.

Saint-Louis provides an important setting for the assignment because GAEC-Africa’s archiving work is closely connected to the histories, memories, communities, and contemporary experiences of the city. The organization is based in Saint-Louis and maintains active relationships with students, researchers, artists, activists, residents, and international academic partners.

Applicants should be prepared for an immersive, community-based residency rather than a fully remote archival assignment.

Application Preparation

The publicly accessible listing does not identify the complete list of required application documents. Applicants should rely on the official application instructions linked to the opportunity before submitting.

To prepare a strong application, candidates may find it useful to assemble:

1. An updated curriculum vitae;
2. A concise statement explaining their interest in the residency;
3. A portfolio of digital archives, exhibitions, websites, publications, or documentary projects;
4. Examples of archival organization, metadata, cataloguing, or digital storytelling;
5. A proposed approach to documenting Groundings;
6. Evidence of experience working with communities;
7. An explanation of their interest in decolonial or community-centred archival practice;
8. Information about relevant software and technical skills;
9. Details of language competencies; and
10. Confirmation of availability to reside in Saint-Louis for one month.

These are preparation recommendations and should not be interpreted as a confirmed list of mandatory documents.

Important Questions Applicants Should Confirm

The accessible public listing does not provide complete information about the financial and logistical terms of the residency. Before accepting an offer, shortlisted applicants should obtain clear information about:

• Whether an honorarium or professional fee will be provided;
• Whether international or domestic travel will be covered;
• Whether accommodation is supplied;
• Whether meals or a daily allowance are included;
• Visa and immigration support;
• Health or travel insurance;
• Local transportation;
• Workspace and equipment;
• Internet and software access;
• Required working languages;
• Ownership and copyright of the final archive;
• Consent and data-protection arrangements;
• Public access to sensitive materials;
• Credit and attribution;
• Technical hosting of the archive; and
• Responsibility for maintaining the archive after the residency.

Applicants should not assume that any of these costs or services are covered unless the organizer confirms them.

Application Deadline

The deadline stated in the Rhizome opportunity listing is:

August 3, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.

The time zone is not displayed in the indexed listing. Applicants should therefore avoid waiting until the final day and should consult the official application materials for the exact closing time. Click HERE to apply.

Conclusion

The GAEC Africa Archivist-in-Residence 2026 offers a distinctive opportunity to combine digital archiving, decolonial knowledge production, community participation, and creative storytelling.

The selected resident will spend one month in Saint-Louis developing a digital archive of Groundings, GAEC-Africa’s 2025 decolonial convening. The assignment will require more than technical file management. It calls for an applicant capable of understanding the intellectual and community context of the materials, working collaboratively with the local student-activist community, and translating a complex convening into an accessible and meaningful digital resource.

For archivists, researchers, curators, digital-humanities practitioners, documentary artists, and community historians interested in African and decolonial knowledge systems, this residency presents an opportunity to contribute to the preservation of an important intellectual and cultural initiative while helping establish a long-term archival foundation for GAEC-Africa.

For more global opportunities, VISIT HERE.