What logics of value generation emerge in the distribution of archival materials, and how do these logics influence archival practices and structures?

Archives are crucial not only for preserving cultural heritage but also for rediscovering and valorizing older products of popular culture. Remakes, remixes, and memes facilitate the redistribution and renewed circulation of older films and music through quotations and aesthetic references. Politically, archives situated outside the originating societies of the archived artifacts—such as the African Music Archives in Mainz—face particular challenges.

The first project phase explored, guided by an expansive concept of archives (collective memory, embodied knowledge, heritage institutions), how digital archival practices within and beyond regions become factors of "re-spatialization" and undermine hegemonic orders. The second phase will specifically focus on the actors of digital distribution, examining how platforms reinforce these orders. To what extent does the circulation of historical materials, such as Nollywood film clip memes, generate historical consciousness among audiences and cultural entrepreneurs, thus becoming a factor in digital cultural production itself? What role do platforms and portals play in cooperation with archives regarding decolonial practices of accessibility and usability, and how might digital distribution practices sometimes counteract these efforts?