Tendai John Mutambu

Tendai Mutambu is an Aotearoa New Zealand-based writer, curator, and editor who was CIRCUIT's 2022 Curator-at-large, curating the project Otherwise-image-worlds. He is Associate Producer on Aura Satz’s first feature Preemptive Listening, Contributing Editor for The Art Paper, and Graduate Mentor for Hospitalfield in Scotland.

Previously, Tendai was Assistant Curator of Commissions and Public Programmes at Spike Island in Bristol where he contributed to projects on Pacita Abad, Peggy Ahwesh, Eric Baudelaire/Alvin Curran, Adam Khalil/Bailey Sweitzer, Zinzi Minott, Imran Perretta, and Laura Phillips.

His other recent work includes: George Watson: Kōtiro, Emepaea at Te Uru (2021-22); The Conch at South London Gallery (2021); We Are Here: Work from the LUX and British Council Collections (touring internationally, 2019-22); Artist in Profile: Marwa Arsanios at Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival (2019); Sriwhana Spong: a hook but no fish (2018), David Clegg: loca projects / correction (2017) (both at Govett-Brewster/Len Lye Centre).

Tendai has written for Frieze, Art Monthly UK, LUX Moving Image, Ocula Magazine, Runway Journal of Contemporary Art and his writing has appeared in several artists’ publications including for Ufuoma Essi: From Where We Land at South London Gallery (2021/2022), Peggy Ahwesh: Vision Machines for Spike Island (Mousse, 2021); Zac Langdon-Pole’s Art Journey for the BMW Art Prize at Art Basel (Hatje Cantz, 2019).

Tendai is working with CIRCUIT to commission an installation opening at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery in mid-2022, featuring five new works by artists from Aotearoa and the UK.