THE OUTPOUR

19 years old and currently studying sociology at university, Jeanette is infiltrating the creative scene while paying homage to other black creatives with her recent project ‘Black Pages’, created by herself and Erica Mwiza.

 

Jeanette is Congolese, born and raised in Oxford. While growing up in Oxford, a predominately white town, she wasn’t really immersed in much culture outside the home, however her parents made a "conscious effort" to make sure their children knew where they were from:

"Eating Congolese food, speaking the language – I don’t speak it – but speaking it in front of us".

 

Jeanette describes herself as a Passionate, Hardworking, and Innovative individual and it is clear that being a creative is something that comes very naturally to her.

 

"I create because […] to be honest it’s because I’m not very much an academic. I don’t really enjoy your maths, your sciences […] I’m more for Art stuff and I think that’s always been the case since I was young. I feel like my passions stem from anything art related, whether that’s music, whether that’s fashion. I always find that I gravitate towards stuff like that."

 

Jeanette creates for the people who look like her, sound her and share her interests and values. To delve deeper into who Jeanette is as a young black creative, we asked her a few other questions.

 

When asked how she came up with the idea for her recent project Black Pages, with Erica Mwiza, Jeanette spoke about how feeling isolated in Oxford played a role.

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“I remember initially it was because we are from Oxford and there was no one spotlighting people that were outside of oxford. So it stems from the idea of a yellow page where you look through it and your like 'oh I need a plumber today, who does plumbing?'  You look through the Black Pages, you’re looking for a stylist… videographer, you can find them.”

 

With that, Jeanette expanded her concept beyond Oxford, including creatives from Manchester, inside and outside of London, creating a platform to showcase talent nationally. But this wasn’t easy. Like other creatives, Jeanette faced the lengthy process of making her idea, a reality.

 

“As a creative, having an idea is one thing but figuring out how to bring that idea to life takes work,” Jeanette says.

 

"The initial idea was maybe like June. I started it on TikTok around July or august. And then it was only in October … end of October when we actually started filming. Obviously in between that time we were reaching out to people finding spaces, but yeah filming started in October, finished in November and then we started putting it out 3 weeks ago".

 

The journey, nonetheless, is worth it. Jeanette’s platform for Black creatives is not only creating a space for emerging and unique talent but is also forming networking opportunities and a community for people of colour within the creative industry. Something that is really important to Jeanette.

 

 She says that community for her "stems from the idea of belonging somewhere. Knowing you can go back somewhere and be like 'I’m apart of something'. Community I think is the idea of wanting to feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself."

 

And that expansion beyond oneself is apparent in the various places Jeanette has found community. Family, church, and friends - "mainly Erica" - Jeanette believes that the people in her life, and the community she has found, is what makes her part of something bigger than herself, bigger than being a creative, bigger than just Oxford.

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As a second-year sociology student, Jeanette has found community in the pockets of people at university. Initially, she found it in sports, but after an injury, was forced to seek community elsewhere.

"I played basketball a lot but then I ruptured my achilles. That was my thing for a bit, sports and all these other things, but then that got taken away. That was really hard because of course I couldn’t really do much. Then I joined a church and that’s when my other family came into fruition."

 

And for Jeanette, family - those you were born into and those you have chosen - are her biggest inspiration. With those around her having more of an impact compared to celebrities or other big names. Jeanette spoke about her co-creator for Black Pages and said:

"Erica is probably one of my biggest inspirations, her mind is out of this world." 

 

When asked, Jeanette shared the best advice she had ever received from someone, and what she shared makes you truly understand why those around her are so inspiring.

 

“If you don’t start it, someone else will, you can create a way or plan the way you’re going to execute it, but don’t sit on it for too long because someone will do it.”

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Jeanette reminds herself that in the creative industry, "no idea is unique," but this has only taught her to do things differently than the last person.

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In the creative industry, Black creatives and other people of colour, are still too often compartmentalised and marginalised. Too often, being a person of colour cannot go outside the lines of what the industry deems satisfactory. This can often strip Black creatives of their identity, but Jeanette reminds us that we are here to keep setting trends rather than conform to them.

 

 "[my favourite thing about being a black woman is] how much we like to set trends, how we are super cool, like everyone likes to be like us, talk like us, look like us. This shows how amazing we are and how effortless we are".

 

Though Jeanette acknowledges that there is still a lot of work to do with representation in the industry she says:

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"It always comes down to exposure and seeing us, and people like us in the mainstream and not just the same people. You might have one token black girl but it’s the same black girl that is being used, the same variation of people of colour that are being platformed."

 

The importance of platforms for people of colour is personal for Jeanette, as it is something that has shifted her own perspective in how she views creative work. She spoke to us about the No Signal Yearbook (a local yearbook) and "how they caption people at the end of the year, people like us, doing their thing." For Jeanette, acknowledgement of new and aspiring creatives is refreshing, and we certainly agree.

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We asked Jeanette what she would say to herself five years ago and why and what she had to share was a sentiment everyone longs for from time to time - a bit of reassurance.

 

"Keep doing what you’re doing, you’re onto something. I feel in that moment you are like 'I don’t know what I am doing' and 'Is this right for me?' But I would tell her 'Jeanette you’re onto something, you’ve got this.'"

 

Jeanette went on to say that every day, week, month, and year is a step towards your goals. A notion we believe will resinate with readers. Even though you may not be where you are now, you are already a step closer than you were yesterday.

 

"You feel like you can’t see it but the little things you are doing every day, the songs you are listening to, the people are you reaching out to, the conversations you are having, are all adding to the picture. You just can’t see the picture yet."

 

With the development of Black Pages in its final stages, be sure to keep an eye out on Jeanette’s space for upcoming black creators. Jeanette says that beyond that she is looking into doing even more than music and presenting. As Jeanette says, that is just one ‘arm’ of her. Jeanette is going to keep expanding, growing, and making room for more black creatives in the industry with her.