Introducing: Jehnay Bennett
At Culture Space Coventry, we celebrate the incredible work happening in our community. Today, we're shining a spotlight on Jehnay Bennett—a young, passionate storyteller making Black British Caribbean history and culture more accessible, visible, and engaging to global audiences.
You may have seen her work across, Instagram (@rootsandting), TikTok (@boujie.banton), or most recently in this interview with the BBC.
Now, Jehnay is bringing her digital skills and deep passion to the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum for an exciting project that highlights the British Caribbean presence in Coventry, echoing the questions raised in the Collecting Coventry exhibition:
Are you represented in the Herbert?
Is your community represented?
What stories would you tell in the museum?
Images: A series of reference materials from Coventry Archives which Jehnay used as part of her research for the project
Jehnay is delving into the museum’s archives to unearth stories of Black British people in Coventry Archives. Jehnay’s use of social media plays a huge role in this. With her engaging content on Instagram and TikTok, she's taking the archives and bringing them to life in ways that resonate with today’s audience.
At the heart of her work is a deep love for her Caribbean heritage and a strong belief that these stories should be told, preserved, and shared—not hidden away in dusty books or forgotten corners, but in places where they can inspire, connect, and empower us. When I asked about the responsibility of sharing these stories and appealing to her audience she says:
“Photographs and stuff tell a story, and I feel they can be useful. In that way I kind of want to show my audience how like a photograph, they may not see the value in it, but it’s kind of like teaching them that it is valuable, and it helps tell our story.”
“I always say I see [my work] as a bit of a digital diary where basically I just share things that I’ve come across or learned or things I find interesting and just put it on the Internet and whoever’s interested will follow me. If they’re not they scroll past.”
It’s a fresh and exciting approach that allows her to connect with young people, and it's something we hope to learn from to inspire future projects. Beyond curating history, this project is also a step towards Jehnay’s career development. During supported research days in Coventry Archives, Jehnay was able to learn best practice from the Archive team whilst gaining hands on experience. She's exploring not just how to tell stories, but how to collect and preserve them.
Left Image: Jehnay Bennett, in conversation with Vanley Burke about his work at Coventry Archives
Right Image: Jehnay and Vanley in front of Vanley’s work exhibited in the Collecting Coventry Exhibition
“Meeting Vanley Burke was such a great opportunity. I think at first, I was kind of nervous about meeting him because it’s not every day you meet the Godfather of Black British photography, and he’s someone whose work I have enjoyed and admired for a long time. But he was super kind and he shared some valuable insights into photo documentation, what it means and how to interact with communities”
“It was just like really fun going through the photographs and he shared the back stories behind each one. And it kind of made me appreciate photography a lot more. It gave us a fuller story.”
Whether it's learning about archiving, photography for documentation, or experimenting with digital archives, Jehnay’s journey is paving the way for a new generation of Archivists and Curators.
So, follow the social media campaign which will be shared by both Jehnay (IG: @rootsandting | TikTok: @Bouji.banton) and the Herbert (IG: @the_herbert_cov | TikTok: @covmuseums) to learn more about her findings.
Author: Zhitong Chen, Learning and Engagement Intern
Editor: Amara Lawrence, Community Engagement Coordinator for Young People
VIEW JEHNAY’S PROJECT IN FULL BY CLICK ON THE
IMAGE TO THE LEFT