The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) invites applications for the inaugural DRUM Fellowship, an interdisciplinary programme exploring the histories, legacies and contemporary resonances of DRUM through archival research, creative practice and public engagement.

Developed as an extension of MOWAA's Social History Archives practice, the fellowship reflects our commitment to expanding access to archives and collections as sites of inquiry, cultural memory and creative production. It foregrounds the archive not as a static repository, but as a living space for reinterpreting Africa's social and visual histories and generating new forms of knowledge.

The fellowship is made possible through MOWAA's collaboration with the Drum Archive / Baileys African History Archive and the generous support of the Ford Foundation. Fellows will engage directly with archival materials through a programme of research, mentorship and public engagement, developing projects that critically examine DRUM's enduring influence on media, identity, politics and culture across Africa and its diasporas.

Applications are now open for the first cohort, running from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Deadline for applications is August 16th,2026. 

Founded in Johannesburg in 1951, DRUM became one of the twentieth century's most influential African publications. Through journalism, photography, literature, satire and political commentary, it chronicled urban African life while shaping conversations on culture, identity, resistance and modernity across the continent and its diasporas. As a pan-African, multi-edition publication, DRUM established a presence across 8 African countries, including Nigeria and Ghana. 

Anchored in a landmark publication and a living archive, the fellowship positions DRUM as a lens through which to examine African cultural production, political imagination, urban modernity and public discourse. 

We welcome research-based, practice-led and public-facing projects that generate new interpretations of the archive and its continued relevance today. Applicants are encouraged to propose a project that responds to one of the two thematic strands outlined below, and projects may draw on history, political science, literature, media studies or philosophy. 

World-Making: Image, Print and Public Opinion. DRUM as a media enterprise that shaped image, public opinion and visual culture across the continent and its diaspora; as a site for the professionalisation of African editorial, photographic and journalistic practice; and as an agent in the formation of postcolonial and diasporic Black identities. 

Tracing Modernity in West Africa. DRUM as a lens on the making of modernity, read across music, urban life, gender expression, visual resistance and public spectacle, using the magazine's coverage of everyday and cultural life as evidence of how modernity was lived, contested and performed.  

What the Fellowship Offers 

• A stipend for the duration of the Fellowship  

• One-to-one mentorship from an assigned mentor aligned to the fellow's field 

• Peer workshops, writing sessions and editorial support to bring work to publication and exhibition standard 

• Direct, supported access to the DRUM archive and MOWAA's collections 

• Expert-led workshops, masterclasses, and training in areas such as archival methods, oral history, writing for public audiences, exhibition and curatorial practice 

• Study visits to MOWAA and to external sites and collections 

• Publication of essays and Reader Guides within the living archive and, where applicable, in print 

• Opportunities to present work to public audiences during the Fellowship 

• Retention of copyright and authorship, with outputs published openly

The selection process is designed to identify thoughtful, critically engaged practitioners with the potential to contribute meaningfully to the DRUM archive, social history and overall discussion of archives. Applications will be reviewed by a selection panel comprising representatives from MOWAA. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an online interview before final selection. 

Who can apply 

The Fellowship is open to early- and mid-career practitioners across research, writing, curatorial, archival and creative fields. Eligible applicants include researchers, independent scholars, writers and journalists, curators, archivists, artists, filmmakers, cultural practitioners, media professionals and heritage professionals. Applicants from West Africa are especially encouraged to apply. 

MOWAA coordinates the practical arrangements for the in-person elements of the programme, including accommodation, travel, and visa facilitation where required. The scope of travel support is confirmed with shortlisted applicants.

For questions about the Fellowship or the application, contact collections@wearemowaa.org.