Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment™ WATCH LIVE STREAM LIVE BELOW!

Please join us with actor Jim Carrey, Eckhart Tolle, Marianne Willliamson, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and more! BELLA GAIA performs a short 10min sample during 6:30 GATE2 event

The live events begin at 9:00 AM Pacific Time USA, Saturday, February 4th

Daytime Event
GATE Transformational Story Conference
“Awakening Spirit Through Transformation”
9 AM to 5 PM PT
www.gatecommunity.org/storycon

And then, in the evening, the GATE 2 celebration begins at 6:30 PM –

Evening Event
GATE 2: “Only a New Seed Will Yield a New Crop –
A Celebration of Transformational Entertainment, Media and Arts”
6:30 to 11:00 PM PT
www.gatecommunity.org/gate2

LIVE STREAM HERE:

The BELLA GAIA Ensemble features Live; Deep Singh (Tabla, Voice, Percussion), Yumi Kurosawa (Koto), Lety ElNaggar (Nay, Sax), Kristin Hoffmann (Voice, Keys), Irina Akulenko (Dance), Lale Sayoko (Dance), Kenji Williams (Violin, Laptop)

An 8min BELLA GAIA video will be featured at the Exhibition of the Eye on Earth Summit in Abu Dhabi Dec 12-15. Eye on Earth will address the crucial importance of environmental and societal information and networking to decision-making.

For Press:
“Your Beautiful Earth – BELLA GAIA – Visualizing The Changing World for Rio+20”

BELLA GAIA is an awe-inspiring multimedia presentation created by award winning filmmaker, composer and violinist Kenji Williams. The BELLA GAIA video, Your Beautiful Earth, BELLA GAIA, Visualizing The Changing World for Rio+20 tells the visual story of the relationship between Earth and Humanity, as the world gets closer to the Rio+20 conference in June 2012. BELLA GAIA successfully simulates space flight and illustrates our beautiful but changing planet, taking the audience on a spectacular journey around the Earth, using space flight simulation, high-end data visualization, and gripping music. BELLA GAIA explores the interconnection of humans and nature, by using the media-rich languages of today to present audiences compelling visualizations of the latest scientific data, the environment, and humanity’s impact on nature in a way that taps audience’s emotional intelligence, to engage the world as it prepares for Rio+20. “Rio+20 is an opportunity to define where we want to go, in a positive and engaging way, and BELLA GAIA is a vehicle to open up these new worlds we can work towards” – Kenji Williams, Founder Director BELLA GAIA

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

NASA FUNDS BELLA GAIA
EDUCATION PROJECT “BEAUTIFUL EARTH”

PROJECT BRINGS IMMERSIVE VISUAL EXPERIENCE CENTERED AROUND
SPACE TRAVEL, EARTH SCIENCE, AND NATIVE AMERICAN WISDOM
TO CLASSROOMS AND SCIENCE CENTERS NATIONALLY

(Syracuse, NY) – September 19, 2011 – Educator David Kolb defined all learning as the “process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.” With the current economic challenges and the loss of creative scientific and engineering work to other nations, never before has an experiential, transformative model of learning for science, space travel, and geography been so critically needed. Recognizing this tremendous need, NASA has awarded a half a million dollars to a new 3-year science education project called Beautiful Earth, which uses the space flight simulation performance “BELLA GAIA” combined with Earth science, Native American storytelling, data visualizations, and music to engage youth in Earth science with the first multidisciplinary program of its type. This revolutionary educational model will celebrate its national launch on October 4th, 2011 at the MOST Science Museum in Syracuse, New York.

Beautiful Earth connects students with a profoundly global perspective of Earth as seen through the eyes of Astronauts. By successfully simulating space flight and the transformative “Overview Effect” that Astronauts experience, and integrating emerging scientific data from NASA scientists with the shared knowledge and wisdom of Native American educators, audiences are rapt by the feeling of being in space. By engaging students and the public emotionally and cognitively, Beautiful Earth aims to attract students to the rigorous study of Science, Technology, and Engineering and Mathematics disciplines and to encourage people to be effective stewards of the Earth for decades to come.

Valerie Casasanto, Principal Investigator of Beautiful Earth and education specialist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, says, “Beautiful Earth helps viewers to observe the interconnectedness of everything on Earth in fundamentally new ways. It educates audiences about how human activities are influencing global processes and motivates them to think about what actions need to be taken to support a healthy environment.”

Beautiful Earth was awarded the grant through NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Competitive Opportunities in Education and Public Outreach for Earth and Space Science (EPOESS) Program and is a partnership between NASA, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Remedy Arts/BELLA GAIA, and five partner science centers. Native Earth Ways and Spaceship Earth Scientist will be the first two modules in a series of three “Beautiful Earth” experiences.

Beautiful Earth’s collaboration with NASA, BELLA GAIA and other partners delivers a new immersion into the education experience that integrates art, science, and Native American wisdom to create a moving emotional and cognitive connection between the viewer and our planet Earth. It was designed to encourage youth to become “connected”, responsible stewards of the Earth and is an outgrowth of Kenji Williams’ acclaimed BELLA GAIA Living Atlas Experience performed across the globe since 2008, connecting youth and the public to the grandeur of the planet and inspiring a deeper interest in Earth and Space science.
The NASA approved project will be delivered to youth and the public in live presentations in planetariums, through in-person workshops at science centers across the United States, and broadcast on television and online. Students will interact with prominent NASA scientists and Native American educators to gain access to new tools that will increase their scientific literacy in relation to Earth science.
The Beautiful Earth program includes:

• A live musical performance of BELLA GAIA by Kenji Williams with video of orbiting visualizations of Earth from space, and customized data visualizations specific to the local region of the particular museum.

• Hands-on interactive education workshops for local students and community members.

• Data from current NASA missions, such as the recently launched Aquarius to study salinity of the oceans, a critical factor in global climate processes.

Valerie Casasanto explains that “By integrating art with science, a much bigger education goal can be achieved, especially when you bring in specialists to explain the data that scientists are gathering about Earth systems like forest fires, sea surface temperatures and polar ice. Combining imagery, music and science is a powerful tool for educators to help students become inspired and to achieve absorption. The program will also introduce further NASA opportunities such as student internships, engagement in NASA missions, and citizen science.”

About Beautiful Earth
Beautiful Earth: Experiencing and Learning Science in a New Way (Beautiful Earth) (http://www.bellagaia.com/connect/), based on Kenji Williams’ BELLA GAIA audio-visual experience, is a unique education program and partnership between NASA, the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Remedy Arts/BELLA GAIA (www.bellagaia.com), and five partner science centers across the United States (The first partner is the MOST Museum in Syracuse, New York (http://www.most.org/) with the participation of the Onandaga Nation School (http://www.onondaganationschool.org/). The program builds and expands upon 14 successful events test-piloted with NASA, including the Digital Learning Network (DLN) Earth Day Events in 2009 and 2010 (http://tinyurl.com/2ckg2rh).

The Beautiful Earth project originated from the collaborative work of director and composer, Kenji Williams, UMBC/NASA education specialist Valerie Casasanto, and Native American Studies scholar and educator, Ronan Hallowell. Other core team members include Dr. Ana Prados, an atmospheric chemist at NASA Goddard/UMBC; James Rock, a Dakota science teacher and cultural educator from Minnesota; and Dr. Thorsten Markus, Head of the Cryospheric Sciences Branch at NASA Goddard and Project Scientist of upcoming ICESat-2 satellite mission. Beautiful Earth presents BELLA GAIA in a new forum that provides a deeper learning experience for K-12 students by combining the live experience with workshops by top NASA scientists, data visualizers, and Native American scientists and educators. Beautiful Earth translates Earth science into the media languages of the 21st century by using the BELLA GAIA experience to engage students in a way that seamlessly synthesizes science, art and education.

About Christie Communications
Christie Communications is a full-service branding, public relations, marketing, advertising agency dedicated to helping ethical businesses, entrepreneurs, and socially conscious organizations broaden their impact through effective communication services. It is a company based in philosophy, driven by passion, and known by its results.

For further information about “Beautiful Earth” or for media related inquiries, please contact:
Alissa Sears
Christie Communications
(805) 969-3744
email at alissa [at] christiecomm.com

Working with the Goi Peace Foundation, Kenji Williams, BELLA GAIA will appear at the UNESCO Youth Forum at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris France on Oct 19, 2011.

The show will collaborate with youth from around the world, in the General Conference room at UNESCO Headquarters. More Details found here
UPDATE: Video Clip BELLA GAIA collaborates with Youth performing spoken word live.

BELLA GAIA’s Education project with NASA, Beautiful Earth, to hold its first event on Oct 4th, in Syracuse New York.

BELLA GAIA on the BIG SCREEN PLAZA – Chelsea, New York City. July Schedule Below
LISA (Leaders in Software and Art) partnership with Big Screen Plaza will be screening various works of artists, including Kenji Williams’ BELLA GAIA content. Full Information: http://softwareandart.com/?p=610

Location:
between 29th to 30th st @ 6th Avenue
Big Screen Plaza Map

Full July Schedule:
Friday 7/1 – 9AM
Sunday 7/3 – 9AM, 10AM
Tuesday 7/5 – 9AM, 10AM
Wednesday 7/6 – 7PM
Thursday 7/7 – 12PM, 1PM, 9PM
Friday 7/15 – 9AM
Sunday 7/17 – 9AM, 10AM
Tuesday 7/19 – 9AM, 10AM
Thursday 7/21 – 12PM, 1PM
Wednesday 7/ 27 – 7PM-9PM
Friday 7/29 – 9AM
Sunday 7/31 – 9AM, 10AM

Content Playlist:
Ocean Cloud/Wonder Woman’s Invisible Plane      Anne Spalter
Gyre 29 Mark Stock
Bella Gaia (Excerpt)    Kenji Williams, Remedy Arts LLC
Lux Flux        Eva Lee
Fire Cloud/Wonder Woman’s Invisible Plane       Anne Spalter
Sinurti Mark Stock
Graphite Cloud/Wonder Woman’s Invisible Plane   Anne Spalter
Mapping: 23 Minutes, 23 Tongues (Excerpt)       Asya Reznikov
Smoke Water Fire        Mark Stock
Winter’s Veil   Eva Lee
Rota 9_5c       Mark Stock
Dream Cloud/Wonder Woman’s Invisible Plane      Anne Spalter
Stain (125_1c)  Mark Stock

Video of NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis, on her final journey to space. Taken from Mission Control building, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Kenji Williams with members of the Bella Gaia (Beautiful Earth) NASA education team: Valerie Casasanto and Thorsten Markus (NASA), Roxanne Gould, and Native American Astronomer Jim Rock – who worked with Valerie to bring aboard the first Native American microgravity experiment in space, growing Tobacco seeds on Space Shuttle Atlantis.

The Examiner.com 5-star review of BELLA GAIA. by Mark Riva:
http://www.examiner.com/la-in-los-angeles/the-poetic-vision-of-bella-gaia-review

FutureLounge.com:
http://thefuturelounge.com/2010/11/bella-gaia/

BELLA GAIA kicks off the US State Department event of President Obama’s exchange program at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington DC to exemplify engaging ways the U.S. presents science education.
The White House Blog mentions Bella Gaia:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/27/international-science-teachers-tour-us-cities-schools-part-new-beginning