Spike Island is pleased to announce that Bolivian–Japanese curator Akira Ishu has been awarded a three-month curatorial fellowship at Spike Island, taking place between March and June 2026. The fellowship is delivered in partnership with Contemporary Bolivian Arts Trust (CBAT) and Fundación RSV.

Conceived as a platform for early-career international curators based in Bolivia, the fellowship reflects a shared commitment to supporting curatorial voices from underrepresented contexts and fostering international exchange between the UK and Bolivian art scenes. During his residency in Bristol, Ishu will undertake curatorial research, participate in professional development opportunities, and engage closely with Spike Island’s community of over 70 resident artists.

As part of the programme, Ishu will deliver a public lecture about his work and practice at Spike Island in March 2026, contribute to the planning of Spike Island’s Summer Season exhibitions featuring new exhibitions by Nancy Lupo and Tohé Commaret, and organise a curatorial event during Spike Island’s Open Studios weekend in early May. He will also receive mentorship from Spike Island’s curatorial team and take part in visits to galleries and exhibitions across the UK.

GET TO KNOW AKIRA

What has your journey into arts curation looked like?

I’d say it’s been ‘chaotic good’. In a way, a pragmatic approach has led the way for professional growth with a desire for theory and editorial. It’s been two years since I officially entered curation but before that, music curation was something that made a lot of sense to me. It opened a path in which I could observe and absorb a lot of what I consider important and I want to continue that journey of picking up concepts and ways of work in order to shape myself as a curator.

Do you have your own artistic practice?

I’ve been involved in a lot of creative endeavours due to curiosity and chance. I play bass for Torkuatos, also released some songs under a pseudonym, had a stint at graffiti, did some public interventions but the one that is related a lot more to my career is sound design. I studied and worked within audio post-production for some time and still enjoy doing that whenever the opportunity presents itself. Other than that I don’t really consider myself a musician but I’m close at heart to music and audio.

What did your first curatorial project look like?

The original first was a co-curation with artist Benicia Chávez for our inaugural group show called CONSISTENCIA. Where we looked to create a space for artistic gestures to dialogue about the local contemporary art scene. Few months later, my first solo curation was Mar de las intenciones by artist María Baltasar, the exhibition itself happened in two worlds: a physical medium at the exhibition space and a digital one, created to provide opportunity for new messages to be carried out by the recovered candles that gave origin to the project, with aid of local and multiplayer users. It was shaped through continuous dialogue with the artist, who decided to use Roblox as the vessel for this virtual exploration and ‘intention creating’ world. The candles she gathered through various churches around the city usually do get recycled but are not intervened in the middle of that process. She felt they didn’t need to be re-melted and re-shaped before they could take on new ideas, and she was right. A melted candle does not lose the ability to receive new intentions.

Could you tell us about a recent highlight project you have worked on?

Working with Pablo Helguera was a gratifying experience and definitely something to highlight for 2025. He’s an incredible artist and educator. The project grew immensely in little time and demanded a lot of adaptation in order to properly provide what the artworks needed. Having a main installation along with 3 other bodies of work was production-intensive but curation-wise the works selected were chosen with a dash of humour and critique of the local context. The cartoons and collages from The Arlington Heights Suite brought in a connection to the audience and the dialog it created is something I’m very fond of.

What are you excited for in contemporary art in 2026

To get to know as much of Spike Island, its artists and surroundings. Back home in Santa Cruz, I look forward to a few exhibitions we’ll have at Espacio CACA and fairs like ARTBO will surely have more to speak of.

What should art-lovers have their eye on this year?

I believe Latin American art along with tropical artists will bring a lot to the table. A lot of grassroots development and works with motives of migration, movement and belonging.

Is there anything that you are excited or intrigued about Bristol, ahead of your residency?

I like to walk a lot, so I’m definitely looking forward to challenging the British weather in that sense while visiting museums and looking for bootleg and vintage pop culture items. Then I read the music, theatre and street art scene are a must so I will definitely tap into that.