John Kenneth Paranada

John Kenneth Paranada
Curator of Art and Climate Change, Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, London, UK

John Kenneth Paranada, a British-Filipino curator and researcher, holds the pioneering role of Curator of Art and Climate Change at the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia. His appointment marks a significant step in the UK’s museum landscape, emphasizing a dedicated response to the climate crisis through innovative curatorial practices. Paranada combines social and environmental sciences with artistic exploration, adopting an interdisciplinary strategy to pivot towards planetary reciprocity and address the crisis of relevance facing museums and cultural institutions in the 21st century.

His curatorial philosophy centres on accelerating ecological awareness by merging art with various disciplines and lived experiences, both inside and outside the academy, offering tangible pathways and new solutions to our myriad polycrises. This approach allows him to explore complex themes such as the Anthropocene, sustainability, modernity, Indigenous wisdom, land use, and the overarching challenges of the climate emergency.

Paranada aims to show how museums can contribute to sustainable development and inspire museum professionals worldwide to adopt or enhance ecologically minded practices. Additionally, as a researcher at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, his curatorial projects benefit from deep collaborations between the arts and sciences.

Paranada is the curator of Sediment Spirit: The Activation of Art in the Anthropocene (2023), Claudia Martínez Garay: Artist Residency (2023), Ivan Morison: Towards the Weird Heart of Things (2024), De Onkruidenier: Coastal Kin (2025), A World of Water (2025), and Tesfaye Urgessa: Roots of Resilience (2025) amongst others.

He is co-editor of Planet for Our Future (Sainsbury Centre, 2023) and Can the Seas Survive Us? (Sainsbury Centre, 2025). His recent publications include:
– Painting Across Boundaries (Sainsbury Centre, 2025);
– “A Path Forward: Curating Art & Climate Change at the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia,” in Museums, Sustainability and Sustainable Development (Museum International, ICOM, 2024);
– “How Do We Begin a Meaningful Conversation About Art’s Place in the Climate Crisis?” in Design for Our Planet(Design Council, 2023);
– and “Collisions: Art and Climate Change” in Adaptation: A Reconnected Earth (Museum of Contemporary Art and Design Manila, 2023), among others.

He earned his bachelor's degree in Philippine Studies from De La Salle University–Manila and pursued a master's degree in Museum Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He later studied Art and Politics: Philosophy of Nature at Sciences Po, Paris, and completed further postgraduate degrees in Curatorial Studies, Curating and interdisciplinary practices at the Zurich University of the Arts and Goldsmiths College, University of London.