Nicole Yip has been appointed as the new Director of Spike Island, Bristol. Yip is currently Chief Curator of Exhibitions & Live Programmes at Nottingham Contemporary and will take up her new position at Spike Island in June 2024.

Nicole Yip is a Canadian curator and writer based in the UK. She has been Chief Curator of Exhibitions & Live Programmes at Nottingham Contemporary since 2019. While at Nottingham Contemporary, she curated exhibitions by artists including Assemble, Meriem Bennani, Dora Budor, Charlotte Johannesson, Eva Koťátková, Kresiah Mukwazhi, Ridykeulous (Nicole Eisenman & A.L. Steiner), Jimmy Robert, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Diane Simpson and Erika Verzutti. Together with former Spike Island Director Robert Leckie, she is curating a major retrospective of the late British artist Donald Rodney, which will tour from Spike Island to Nottingham Contemporary and Whitechapel Gallery in 2024–25.

From 2016 to 2019 Yip was the Director of LUX Scotland, and previously held curatorial positions at LUX, London; Firstsite, Colchester; and ICA, London. She has curated exhibitions and projects at venues including Tramway, Glasgow; Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow; the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau; the Kochi-Muziris Biennale; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and The Showroom, London.

Her writing has been published by Frieze, CURA, the Paul Mellon Centre and Yale University Press, amongst others. She is a trustee of Film London and chair of Film London’s Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN).

Yip succeeds Robert Leckie, who recently joined Gasworks in London as Director. Professor Judith Squires, Chair of Spike Island’s Board of Trustees, said:

Professor Judith Squires, Chair of Spike Island’s Board of Trustees, said: 

“We are delighted to announce the appointment of Nicole Yip as the new Director of Spike Island. Nicole brings a wealth of experience to this important role as we seek to further strengthen our reputation as one of the country’s most exciting arts organisations. I am excited to welcome Nicole Yip as our new Director to lead the further development of our ambitious and high-quality artistic programme, as well as overseeing the continued provision of accessible workspace to studio holders, Spike Island Associates members, businesses and students. The Board of Trustees look forward to working with Nicole to ensure that Spike Island continues to play a significant role in supporting the South West’s vibrant regional artistic and cultural community.“

Spike Island Studio representatives, said: 

“We welcome Nicole Yip to Spike Island and are excited about the vision and expertise she brings from Nottingham Contemporary, especially a tradition of working collaboratively across the organisation and out into the city. It is brilliant to hear her admiration of Spike Island’s talented artist community; we look forward to working with her to continue its prosperity.“

Nicole Yip said: 

“I am tremendously excited and honoured to join the team at Spike Island. I have long admired Spike Island as an institution that places artists and their needs at the heart of everything it does. This is an ethos that I will hold close as we embark on its next chapter. I look forward to working with the team and board to build on the fantastic achievements of former director Robert Leckie, and getting to know the vibrant community that makes Spike Island so special.”