Jahnavi Inniss
Textile-based graphic designer Jahnavi Inniss on shifting the narrative around Black British history, one stitch at a time
When it comes to building a purpose and passion-driven creative career, Central Saint Martins graduate Jahnavi Inniss is a shining example. Her textile practice, which uses the medium of quilting to reframe Black British history, has landed her work in the Fitzwilliam Museum, running workshops at South London Gallery and beyond, and book cover commissions for Penguin. Below, Jahnavi shares her insights on finding and following your calling, from inspiration to cultural enrichment and creative grants.
What I do
How would you describe what you do?
I document and celebrate untold stories within Black British history through the medium of quilting, challenging distorted historical narratives to represent and empower Black Brits. I also facilitate craft workshops that engage with the history and cultural value of quilting, encouraging participants to celebrate, re-frame and document collective and personal histories through woven stories of joy and empowerment.
“I’m inspired by historical and present-day acts of resistance and self-determination by Black people in the global fight for liberation and justice”
What are the main influences and inspirations behind your work?
The Black radical tradition, as defined by Cedric Robinson. I’m inspired by historical and present-day acts of resistance and self-determination by Black people in the global fight for liberation and justice: events such as the Haitian Revolution, the Morant Bay Rebellion and the Battle of Lewisham and people such as Octavia E. Butler, the Black Panther Party, Steve Biko and Benjamin Zephaniah. The list goes on. Knowing that there are so many people throughout history whose radical thoughts, ideas and actions led to and advocate for my existence is extremely inspiring. I hope to be able to continue and contribute to their legacy through the work that I do.
Black British history quilt on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum, photograph by Thomas Adank
Would you say you need any specific training for what you do?
I’d say the core skills needed are attention to detail, adaptability and patience. Quilting is extremely labour-intensive, so you need to have the mental and physical strength to work on a piece for a sustained period of time. Working with textiles can be quite unpredictable, as certain fabrics don’t always work in the way that you want them to, so you have to be able to adapt your ideas to the materials at hand.
What’s been your favourite project to work on from the past year, and why?
My ‘Voyage to the Islands Quilt’, which highlights the unrecognised contributions of enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples to the Hans Sloane Herbarium. This was a favourite because it taught me a lot about different plant specimens and their various properties; knowing that this knowledge was produced by enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples has given me a strong sense of pride, encouraging me to keep documenting these stories to give them due recognition. The project also brought about a lot of ideas for future projects, as there are so many more stories to tell on the subject of the natural world and colonialism.
'A Voyage to the Islands' quilt
What does a normal day-to-day usually look like for you?
I’ve very recently got a new studio space, so my new normal is to create a to-do list at the beginning of the day and then to head to my studio space – I’m a lot more productive there than at home. I try to break up my tasks over the week depending on their priority level, alongside allocating time to admin every day so that it doesn’t pile up - emails, invoices, updating my website, etc. I then take a look at my project spreadsheet and begin working on the most time-sensitive task. This could be sourcing materials and prepping fabric for an upcoming workshop, or researching and creating designs for a quilt project.
If there was a starter pack for your job, what would be on it?
I’m quite literally always doing some sort of research for an idea that I have, even whilst working on an actual project. I end up in rabbit holes that lead to five new ideas, which I then start researching and collating references for.
How I got here
What was your journey like when you were first starting out?
After graduating, I knew that I wanted to do graphic design within an arts and heritage institution that had some sort of social impact. As I graduated during the height of the pandemic, when everything was closed, there weren’t many of those positions available. I ended up doing a bit of freelance work to build up my portfolio, and then I worked as a design assistant. I felt extremely unfulfilled in the assistant role and knew that my skills and talents weren't being put to best use. I decided that my time was better spent freelancing and seeking jobs which demanded more creativity and responsibility; I ended up finding the perfect role for me at the time as a graphic designer at the National Portrait Gallery.
How did you go about landing your first few jobs, clients and/or commissions?
I was lucky to be reached out to for my first few commissions. This really helped me to begin to build a portfolio that reflected the exact type of work I wanted to be doing as a freelancer. I began to learn how important networking is and that developing good working relationships with people can lead to future work.
First book cover commission
What has been your biggest challenge along the way?
Managing my time, priorities and workload. Working full-time alongside freelancing led me to burnout, lasting for months until I left my job this September. In the limited free time that I had outside of my full-time job, I found it extremely overwhelming trying to balance my time and energy creating work, coming up with new ideas, experimenting, creating a website, promoting my work and replying to emails.
I’m still recovering from burnout, and there’s still always an email I haven’t replied to, or a series of tasks for multiple projects that need completing. As I take time to rest, recover and establish new routines, I’m learning to be more patient with myself and to understand my working patterns.
“Despite insidious algorithms, there’s still potential for wide reach where anyone, anywhere can see, share and talk about your work.”
How important are social media and self-promotion to your work?
Extremely important! A lot of the work that I’ve got is from other people seeing and sharing my work on Instagram. It’s critical that you visually share and promote your work to make yourself visible to possible clients. Despite insidious algorithms, there’s still potential for wide reach where anyone, anywhere can see, share and talk about your work.
What are three things that you’ve found useful to your work or career, and why?
- A timer. I feel as though I always spend longer than anticipated on tasks, even the so-called ‘easy’ ones that I think will only take 10 minutes. I realised I was doing myself a disservice by allocating unrealistic time slots for tasks, leaving myself stressed about not having enough time to complete other tasks and setting myself up for being underpaid. Timing myself has helped me to see how long certain tasks take so that I can allocate realistic time slots to future tasks and work out a fair pay rate for myself.
- Exploring things that are outside of my usual interests for cultural enrichment. Around five years ago, I started regularly listening to BBC Radio 4. I listen to it every morning and tune in at various points during the day, depending on my mood or task. It’s an example of something that’s exposed me to a wide variety of subjects, thoughts and ideas that I wouldn’t usually seek out; it informs my ideas, research and my work, giving me a broader knowledge base to work from. Another way I achieve this is by going to exhibitions and museums of artists or subjects that I’ve never heard of or have no particular interest in.
- Never going anywhere without a notebook and a pen (with the exception of certain social activities). Writing things down has really helped me to organise my thoughts and ideas.
Endcover commission for We Were There by Lanre Bakare
Have there been any courses, programmes, initiatives, access schemes or job boards you’ve found helpful or would recommend to get into your sector?
The Arts Council’s Developing Your Creative Practice grant. I’ve recently been awarded this grant and it’s enabled me to leave my full-time job. I now have dedicated time to build my quilting practice, developing my practical textile skills, research methods and connecting with historic Black quilting communities in the US.
What have been your greatest learnings with making money and supporting yourself as a creative?
I’ve learned to make sure that I’m adequately charging for all of my time on a project. When giving an estimated fee, I’ve learned to be more realistic in how much time things take me, as well as taking into account time spent working on revisions after feedback. Some projects go through a lot of drafts before final sign-off, which all contribute to the final outcome. It’s important that I get paid for that time too.
I’ve also learned to keep all of my receipts and organise them sooner rather than later. When submitting a tax Self-Assessment, the smaller, day-to-day expenses really add up, so it’s important that they’re accounted for.
“Examine the type of work that you make when you have total freedom in the subject choice, medium and outcome – that’s where your passions lie.”
My advice
What’s the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
Look at the themes that you find yourself repeatedly returning to and examine the type of work that you make when you have total freedom in the subject choice, medium and outcome. That’s where your passions lie.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get into a similar role?
I’d start by questioning your interests and your tastes – ask yourself why you enjoy or don’t enjoy certain tasks, subjects, art/design styles, fonts, patterns, etc. I find that it helps to establish the exact type of work that you want to do.
If you’re looking to work on a design team at a gallery or museum, create or tailor your portfolio to include examples of design work that reflect the types of assets you’d be designing day-to-day. I suggest visiting different cultural spaces and examining the way people interact with the space. Look at the wayfinding information, the graphic interpretations, the printed material, as well as posters on the tube or roadside. For each, come up with a few points on what works well and what could be improved.