Meet Fatima Janneh

We recently connected with Fatima Janneh and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Fatima, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

I find that my optimism comes from a few different sources! I feel grateful to find optimism in the work I’m doing. Something I always say is that I will spend the rest of my life learning about Natural Dye and I will be far from knowing everything there is to know about it, and that excites me. There are hundreds of years surrounding dye and textile work and how incredible is it to have these centuries of cultural work to learn from. I am optimistic about my craft because there will always be a new technique to learn, topics to research, and individuals to connect with.

I have found that it isn’t always easy to be optimistic dealing with the hurdles of being a working artist, specifically as a black woman. I often find myself thinking about all of the other black artists both past and present and their work continues to inspire me. I use this inspiration to keep going, looking into the future of my own practice.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a DMV based artist working out of Red Dirt Studio. My current practice centers around global and historical Natural Dye convention. I consider myself to be an interdisciplinary textile artist; knitting, cyanotype, photography, poetry, and embroidery are all common tools used in my work. My Natural Dye practice is directly influenced by my cultural connection. Shortly after beginning my craft I learned that my great grandmother, a member of the Wolof tribe, was also a dye and textiles artist. Since then, I have worked to learn all I can about Gambian and West African textile practices. A large part of my practice includes teaching! I teach a variety of Natural Dye classes ranging from intro to more specialized workshops. Teaching Natural Dye classes has greatly influenced my practice and in the year I have held classes, it has become one of my favorite parts of my work as an artist. Furthering my goal of keeping cultural practices alive, I have found natural dye classes to be a great way to introduce my community to West African Textile methods. Outside of teaching and my personal studio practice I often participate in art markets around the DMV! I sell one of a kind naturally dyed items such as tote bags, bandanas, napkins, etc. Markets have given me the opportunity of getting to know other artists in the community and speak with others about my own practice.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Great question! I think the top three most impactful parts of my journey have been time management, community, and indigo. Throughout my journey as an artist I have found out the importance of time management the hard way. I have been prone to filling up my schedule with work, art related and other, and because of this have found myself too many times overbooked and exhausted. Just because you can technically do something time wise doesn’t mean you should. As a working artist you need to have a proper work life balance, even when art is not your main job. You do not have to say yes to every single opportunity, especially if it will be to your physical or mental detriment. Carve out intentional time to be with yourself in a non work related capacity, it will provide a balanced foundation for the long run.

Finding and working within my community has changed the game when it comes to my artistic practice. I could not continue on without the other artists of all disciplines around me who have graciously answered my questions, given feedback and encouragement. Through my community I have learned the importance of resilience. It has kept me grounded in my work and vision and has been key to the continuation of my practice. As a artist you face a good amount of rejection, especially since you art putting yourself out there. Dealing with rejection is much easier with others around who understand the process, who can empathize and reassure you to keep going. My community of artists have taught me the process is just as important as the end result, and should not be discounted. I am eternally grateful for the artists I have met on my journey and have learned so much from each and everyone of them.

The last area of knowledge that was most impactful to me has been my journey into Indigo. Since the beginning of my Natural Dye work I have wanted to learn everything there is to about Indigo, one of the main dyes used in West African textile art. My work began on a small scale, experimentation in my apartment kitchen. I thrifted pots and obtained most of my dye materials as discard from the café I work at in addition to my art practice. At this time I was not in the position to build my own indigo vat, lest I or my cat knock it over. It was only when I was able to move into my studio space that I had the freedom to start actually working with indigo. Beginning this work helped solidify to myself my status as an “artist”. Being able to work hands on with a material I have read so much about, a material that is referred to as the original blue, helped to ground me in my power and accomplishments as an artist.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always looking for folks to collaborate with! Recently I have been exploring work related to culture and identity and have been wanting to get perspective from other queer people within the African diaspora. The work of African artists, and especially queer African artists have been grossly underrepresented in the greater art world. Our stories often do not have mass appeal, rejected from African art circles for our queerness and from western art circles for our culture. If anyone is interested in collaborating or even just sharing their own experiences I would love to hear! I can be found on instagram @fatimaknits and my dms are always open!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fatimaknits.com
• Instagram: Fatimaknits

Image Credits

– Shelby Hubbard
– Ezzat Obaid