MARYLIZ BENDER

I’m an Experiential Artist—a producer of music, films, and immersive experiences aimed at inspiring awe and wonder. Driven by the belief that beauty will save the world, I’m a champion for the funding of the arts.

With cutting-edge technology, I create music and immersive experiences as Annu, produce large-scale events and livestreams at Everyday Astronaut, and create films, Mixed Reality experiences, and tour global speeches, live shows, and immersive presentations at Cosmic Perspective. I am a human conduit, explorer, and techno-futurist with eyes fixated on deep space.

EXPERIENCE DESIGNER & AUDIO-VISUAL ARTIST

As an artist and technologist, I am deeply inspired by the ways that we use and design technology to enhance our humanity, creativity, and connection—to ourselves, one another, nature, and the future. I lead workshops with my new favorite technology, the MI.MU gloves, which are ever-enhancing the way I express and create. Follow my journey.

In the last decade, I’ve produced several albums and served as composer, drummer/singer, and tour manager—playing my favorite venues and music festivals on a several-year tour, continuously feeding my passion for multimedia stage production as a powerful form of transformative storytelling and connection.

Annu: Music Producer
Twin Limb: Composer, drummer, singer, co-producer
Kwieta: Composer, singer, co-producer
Jim James: Drummer/percussionist, singer

SPACE STORYTELLER

Inspired by The Overview Effect—a term first coined by a dear friend, Frank White, in 1986—my journey began with a quest to understand what was happening to our space travelers. Through research and interviews with astronauts, I discovered that The Overview Effect provokes a life-changing shift in identity and awareness with an elevated empathy for all living things. They return to Earth as conservationists, humanitarians, and artists, determined to share their new perspectives with the rest of the world. Many of the experiences I design have the goal of bringing this cosmic perspective down to Earth.

My journey led me to the launchpads of Cape Canaveral, where I met my partner, Ryan Chylinski. In 2018, we co-founded Cosmic Perspective to tell the awe-inspiring story of this grand human adventure through immersive films and shows, mixed reality experiences, and large-scale events. Over the years, we built an amazing community of people who are eager to advance and engage in this exciting new space era.

We now live in Brownsville, Texas, a stones-throw away from SpaceX’s Starbase, where Starship is revolutionizing rocket science as we know it. In 2020, we joined forces with Everyday Astronaut to aid in his livestream and filming infrastructure. As of April 2023, I have been honored to lead our amazing crew, our productions, and events, as Mission Director, Program Manager, and co-host at Everyday Astronaut.