About Programs Archive Lab L'Exode du Père Register

Pan-African Afrofuturism Institute of Memory & Imaginaries

Porto-Novo 2026

Remake
History

Memory as Power

Bring your memory home. Build the world they never taught you.

Master 1 · The Future
MA/MFA in Afrofuturist Cinema
Stop watching the future. Author it. AI, speculative editing & African cosmologies.
Discover →
Master 2 · The Past
MA in African & Diaspora History Memory
Reconstructing the past, mapping the future. AfricaTown → Porto-Novo.
Discover →
✦ Register Now — Deadline June 1st, 2026 — Limited Places
* Sent directly to our admissions team.
✦ Received. We will contact you shortly. Welcome.
Who We Are

School of African Future Realities

PAIAMI — the Pan-African Afrofuturism Institute of Memory & Imaginaries — is a world-class research and training institution based in Porto-Novo, Benin, at the heart of the International Museum of Arts and Civilisations of Vodun.

We are a laboratory for Narrative Liberation. Where ancient African wisdom meets cutting-edge technology.

We train the next generation of historians, filmmakers, archivists, researchers, and cultural leaders.

2Global campuses
Porto-Novo & AfricaTown
256Odù of Fa
Knowledge Systems
2026Fall Launch
Applications Open
4Fieldwork sites
Ouidah · Allada · Abomey · Badagry
Academic Programs

Two Pathways
Into the Future

MA · Year 1→2

Master of African &
Diaspora History Memory

Reconstructing the Past, Mapping the Future

A two-year global journey bridging the Atlantic.

1.Oral History & Genealogy: Recovering family lineages
2.Archival Reconstruction: Bringing lost records back to life
3.Memory Studies: Exploring how history shapes identity
4.Historical Documentation: Mastering the art of the record
FinalResearch Thesis, Archive Project, or Documentary Historical Production
FieldworkOuidah · Allada · Abomey · Badagry
DeadlineJune 1st, 2026
StartFall 2026
MA/MFA · Cinema

Master in
Afrofuturist Cinema

Stop Watching the Future. Author It.

Why study the past when you can prototype the future?

Open to filmmakers, visual artists, digital creators, and thinkers.

LocationInternational Museum of Arts & Civilisations of Vodun, Porto-Novo
DeadlineJune 1st, 2026
StartSeptember 1st, 2026
Learn from the Architects
Ytasha Womack
Author of Afrofuturism, voice on Black Sci-Fi culture
Reynaldo Anderson
Founder, Black Speculative Arts Movement & Afrofuturism 2.0
Jean-Pierre Bekolo
Award-winning filmmaker and pioneer of African Futurism
Summer 2026 · Open Program
Archive & Editing Lab

We Need to
Recut That Story

Bring Your Memory Home.

We provide the tools, the space, and the expertise to transform raw memory into power.

Porto-Novo, Benin Museum of Vodun Field Archives Digital Lab
Program Dates 2026
01 / 07
TO
31 / 08
⚠ Limited Places
Register early to secure your place
Apply to the Archive Lab
Official Communiqué · Porto-Novo, April 18, 2026

L'Exode
du Père

A Living Archaeology through the Remake — Jean-Pierre Bekolo × PAIAMI

Inspired by V.Y. Mudimbe...

Founding Thesis

The Colonial Accident
as Method

Africa was not 'without history'...

This project explores the departure...

Montage is no longer a tool of oppression...

The Three Gestures of the Remake
01 · Eisenstein
Cut & Juxtapose

Create dialectical collisions...

02 · Godard
Work the 'Between'

Explore the silences...

03 · Kluge
Contest the Narratives

Produce contradictory montages...

Five-Step Protocol · Recut Method

Human Cut Returns the Scissors

I
Locate the Accident

Identify the precise moment of interruption.

II
Remount Before

Recover the dynamic African trajectories.

III
Show the Accident

Expose the colonial scene as it was.

IV
Remount After

Imagine the continuation of the trajectory.

V
Project & Confront

Share in PAIAMI's Controversy Room.

Transcontinental Documentary Fund

The Archives Mobilized

Bundesarchiv · Germany
Films, administrative reports and documents on the Cameroonian colonial period
BnF · France
Iconographic and documentary collections on Cameroon under the French mandate
National Archives of Cameroon
The official Cameroonian documentary heritage since independence
Sound Archives · Lluis Mallart
Invaluable fieldwork among the Evuzok — voices, stories, Ewondo language
Personal Archives · Jean-Pierre Bekolo
The filmmaker's collection — documents, films, traces of reality accumulated throughout his career
Strategic Collaboration

Bekolo × Gnammankou

Pr. Dieudonne Gnammankou launches a solemn invitation...

Call to the Diaspora

Researchers, artists, editors, writers and photographers are invited...

Join the Project →

...

Jean-Pierre Bekolo × PAIAMI · Porto-Novo · 2026

Project Architecture

La Constellation Complète

Six schémas interactifs — Fragment Bank, points d'entrée, symétrie Our Wishes / L'Exode, Akanga Archives, dispositif Yaoundé, Kluge · Mudimbe · Tonda.

Voir la Constellation → View the Constellation →
6 Schémas Fragment Bank Our Wishes Akanga Archives Yaoundé 1916–2026 Kluge · Mudimbe · Tonda
Build the World
They Never Taught You
— School of African Future Realities, Porto-Novo, Benin
Applications

Register Now

Contact & Information

Primary Email
info@africanfuturememoryinstitute.org
Institute Email
info@panafricanfuturememoryinstitute.org
Campus Location
Porto-Novo, Benin
Application Deadline
June 1st, 2026
Archive Lab Dates
July 1 – August 31, 2026
Program Start
September 1st, 2026
Certification Delivered By
Pan African Afrofuturism Institute of Memory and Imaginaries (PAIAMI)

Express Your Interest

Send us your information and we will contact you with application details.

* Limited places. Early registration is strongly encouraged.

✦ Thank you. We have received your interest.