COMMUNITY
MEMORY
FELLOWSHIP
Preserving the cultural narratives within our shared public spaces
and local communities by weaving together community memory
with history, art, and technology.
Open call for applications August 19 – September 13, 2026
Preserving Cultural
Narratives Through
Art + Technology
Fellowship Tracks
ARTIST FELLOW
Leads the creative and design direction of the AR monument. Including moodboarding, concept development, sound design, narration, art direction, and spatial/animation work. The Artist Fellow will also co-facilitate community workshops and teach-ins alongside the Researcher Fellow.
RESEARCHER FELLOW
Leads archival and community research, developing content cards that correlate with the AR monument and supporting the curation of archival materials and community responses that will live on the Stories We Tend platform.
FELLOWSHIP PRIORITIES
Create Place Based AR Monuments
Create community centered AR experiences that preserve and uplift local histories through the union of art, memory, and technology.
Strengthen Collective Memory
Document local histories directly from community members in the form of oral histories, family archives, music, images, or ideas with the help of our soon to launch digital storytelling platform.
Participate In Community-Centered Programming
Use your phone to explore digital monuments placed in real-world locations—created in deep collaboration with community artists, historians, and local residents.
STEWARDING COLLECTIVE MEMORY
The Community Memory Fellowship invites artists, storytellers, community archivists, and public historians from Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and Queer communities to document untold
and under-represented histories — turning these public spaces into sites of living memory.
APPLY NOW
FAQs
The FAQs below have been created to help you better understand the Community Memory Fellowship Program.
Where does the fellowship take place?
The 2026–2027 cohort is based in Brooklyn, NY. Fellows should live, work, or organize in a Brooklyn neighborhood connected to their proposed project.
What is the Community memory fellowship?
CMF is Kinfolk Tech's flagship cultural program. The Program supports Artist and Researcher Fellow pairings to co-create an in-app, geolocated augmented reality monument and an accompanying community memory , rooted in local Brooklyn history and living memory.
What is OURCHIVES, and how does the community memory fellowship fit into it?
Ourchives is Kinfolk Tech's campaign marking the nation's 250th anniversary by centering stories official commemorations tend to leave out — displacement, people power, mutual aid, and collective imagination. The 2026–2027 Brooklyn cohort is part of this campaign.
What are the fellowship's core themes?
Making Home and Cultivating Belonging; Building People Power; Creative Culture for Survival; and Dreaming and Being Otherwise. Applicants propose a project connected to one or more of these themes.
What's the difference between the Artist Fellow and Researcher Fellow tracks?
The Artist Fellow leads the creative and design direction of the AR monument — moodboarding, concept development, sound design, narration, art direction, and spatial and animation work.
The Researcher Fellow leads archival and community research, develops content cards that correlate with the monument, and supports curation of archival materials.
Do I need prior experience with AR, VR, or immersive media to apply?
No. The application asks Artist applicants to describe any prior experience with digital or immersive media, and specifically invites reflection on what excites or worries you about bringing your practice into augmented reality if you haven't worked in it before.
Do I need to already have a fully developed project idea?
Applicants should come with a grounded starting idea, developed to whatever degree it currently exists.The application asks you to attach a concept note, moodboard, or sketch of your imagined experience and to describe how long you've been working on the project and what you've already done toward it.
What is the stipend?
$6,000 over the 6-month fellowship.
How much time will this require each week?
8–12 hours per week, varying by program phase (concepting phases tend to be lighter; production phases heavier).
What does the time commitment include?
Shared onboarding, monthly Creative Labs, monthly cohort and pair check-ins, drop-in office hours, speaker series and field trips, salons, and an optional culminating event in October 2027, in addition to project work.
What if I have concerns about balancing this with my current work or commitments?
The application includes a dedicated question asking about any concerns you have balancing the fellowship with your current commitments — this is a normal and expected part of applying, and program staff review these responses to support fellows' capacity throughout the program.
How long does the application take?
Approximately 30–60 minutes.
When does the open call open and close?
The open call launches Wednesday, August 19, 2026. The deadline to submit applications is Sunday, September 13, 2026.
When will I hear back from Kinfolk about my application?
All fellowship applicants will be notified of their acceptance or declination the week of October 12, 2026.
Still Have Questions?
Reach out to the Community Memory Fellowship program team at partners@kinfolktech.org
"Something I've walked away from this experience with is the excitement that every time I meet a Black person that isn't like me, it's liberating. It shows me that there is another way to be. I want more of us to understand that."
— KLEAVER CRUZ, 2025 Community Memory Fellow