Josh Tengan is a Honolulu-based arts worker, curator, and collaborator born, raised, and living in Pauoa, Kona, Oʻahu. He serves as the Director of Curatorial Initiatives at Puʻuhonua Society, the community arts and culture organization dedicated to Hawaiʻi and its abundant futures. Previously, he served as Associate Director of Hawaiʻi Contemporary (2022–2025), which presents the Hawaiʻi Triennial. Current collaborative projects include SHIMA (2026-present), exploring Okinawan life in relation to Hawaiʻi, Uchinā, and Moananui; 2026 Pan-Pacific Triennial at the Taitung Art Museum and National Museum of Pre-History in Taitung, Taiwan; and I OLA KANALOA: 50 Years of Aloha ʻĀina (2026) with Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick and Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana.
In 2022, Tengan and Broderick were named ICI Curatorial Research Fellows, and together with Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu, they developed ʻAi Pōhaku, Stone Eaters, a multi-site exhibition of Kānaka ʻŌiwi contemporary art which was presented across the University of Hawaiʻi System in 2023. In 2024, Tengan co-edited the 808-page publication ʻAi Pōhaku, Stone Eaters: Native Hawaiian Contemporary Art in Hawaiʻi 1973–2023. Tengan currently serves on the board of Tropic Editions (2018–present) and as a commissioner on the Honolulu Mayor's Commission on Culture & the Arts (2024–present).
