Juan Francisco Salazar Sutil is Professor and Interim Director of the Institute for Culture & Society at Western Sydney University. Born in Chile and based in Australia since 1998, he is an interdisciplinary scholar working at the intersection of environmental humanities, social studies of science, and documentary filmmaking. His research examines socio-ecological transformations with focus areas including Antarctic cultural studies, outer space governance, and Indigenous media in Latin America. Salazar leads significant research initiatives including the ARC Future Fellowship project 'Australia as a space-faring nation' (2020-2024) and previously directed the international Antarctic Cities project involving researchers across five countries. His creative practice includes documentary films exhibited at venues like the Biennale of Sydney and Serpentine Galleries. Research Focus Salazar's interdisciplinary research spans: Critical studies of outer space and Antarctic governance Documentary film as research methodology Indigenous media epistemologies Socio-ecological transformations in the Anthropocene Participatory action research across Pacific communities Awards and Recognition 2020 Western Sydney University Researcher of the Year 2019 ARC Future Fellowship 2019 Best Australian Documentary (Special Mention) 2016 Barcelona Planet Film Festival Winner 2013 Australian Leadership Awards Fellowship 2009 Australian Educational Publishing Award Research Leadership Salazar has supervised 15+ doctoral students on topics spanning Iranian cinema, Brazilian-Australian multiculturalism, Kurdish cinema, and space governance. He directs projects including: 'Surfacing wetlands through design ethnography' (ARC 2024-2026) 'Climate Risk Ready NSW' (2019-2020) Co-founded Antarctic Youth Coalition (2020) International collaborations with SCAR Humanities and Future Earth Australia His editorial roles include journals Public Humanities , The Polar Journal , and Cultural Anthropology .




