Award winning creative director and music producer Kenji Williams delivers an experience that evolves our perspective of, and connection to, our home planet. Inspired by astronauts who spoke of the life changing experience of viewing the Earth from Space, Bella Gaia includes NASA/MODIS satellite imagery and stunning HD projections of orbiting visualizations of Earth from Space, plus earthbound imagery to explore our cultural heritage through sight and sound. Accompanied by a live performance of Williams' trademark violin-electronica music, experience the beauty and miracle of Planet Earth like never before in this one-of-a kind space show.

Treating the word 'Gaia' as a poetic expression of global interconnectedness, BELLA GAIA brings to life the fusion of science and art in public programming and educational outreach, introducing the vital emotional and aesthetic components that are so often missing from the current scientific, political and economic discourse about the state of our planet.

Project Genesis:

Bella Gaia is a project that started in Star City Russia, where space travelers from around the world prepare for their journey into orbit. In 2005, just after finishing up my last project called 'Worldspirit' with world renowned artist Alex Grey, a very generous fan sponsored me to go to Russia to view the launch of the Soyuz rocket on its way to the ISS.

On that trip, I met NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, who lived on the ISS for 6 months. Extremely excited, I asked him; 'what is it that changed when you went to space? He said that he had a transformative experience where he saw the Earth as a unified interconnected whole, and he fell in love with our home planet in a completely new way. I was inspired by Mike's story, and I wanted to bring this experience to people on Earth, so thus, Bella Gaia was born.

Many of those lucky enough to view the Earth from space have described a sense of wonder and delight that can hold life-changing power, as Mike Fincke described first hand. Known as the Overview Effect [Frank White], this experience is characterized by a dramatic cognitive shift in which the significance of man-made boundaries is eclipsed by a deep awareness that life on Earth operates as a borderless, interconnected whole. The striking clarity of this realization often triggers a keen sense of stewardship that seeks community beyond the limits of nationality and religion. The strength of this conservation instinct tends to grow even after the return to Earth, driving those who share this experience to reach out, and become highly active participants in the preservation of our common heritage.


My vision is to bring the power of art, technology, space science, and real scientific data visualizations together, into a context that is both entertaining and educational, fused with a common goal of raising the awareness and appreciation of our home planet. Bella Gaia can actually visually display how we are affecting the planet, and how each element affects the other, allowing the audience to easily understand the delicate interconnected balance of our planet. The mission is to make it clear - both intellectually *and* emotionally - how the once separate ideas of human activity and nature are actually vitally interconnected , and present it within a context of how miraculous and beautiful our Planet Earth is. Bella Gaia is not just about using art to optimize and enhance the learning experience, it is also refocusing the educational message onto sustainability, global perspectives, and multicultural understanding. We must maintain, preserve, and protect the Earth, as if the Earth itself is a world heritage site.