We asked some of the most talented folks in the community to talk to us about projects they’ve worked on that they still think about, projects that really meant something. Have you had such an experience? Are you looking for inspiration for your next project? Check out the stories below, they are exciting, entertaining, and most importantly – inspiring.

Preston Olson

Smoke On The Cruise! The second book in my Shields and Shadows saga. Putting hours on end into my second novella over the last year and a half has been rewarding, challenging, and an eye-opening experience. There were moments I shed tears at the scenes I was able to create. There were nights I laughed away with some of the dialogue I came up with. Read more>>

Nicole Salvatore

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date is one on which I’m still working and have been for several years now.One of my current clients is a data communications company that helps schools stay safe during emergencies using integrated technology solutions. Read more>>

Beverly Hill

We created a large and visually powerful exhibit to represent the 143 million women and girls who have been eliminated from our world due to social causes.We used baby booties, handcrafted by 500 marginalized women in 30 low income countries. Each pair represents 10,000 “missing” women. Read more>>

Hounslow

This project that I am currently working on will eventual be presented as my first ever solo EP. Since 2019 I have been working with other independent artists and producers to help them create their projects. Through doing so I have gathered certain techniques that have helped me create, what I would consider, sonic individuality. Read more>>

Brian Lacey

The most meaningful project to date would have to be the first time I got to collaborate with my now good friend, HoxxoH (Douglas Hoekzema). The project started with me being hired as his Assistant for his first project in the city of Detroit, He lives and works out of Miami, FL. Read more>>

Trey Tetreault

I’m currently obsessed with a project I am so proud of, Holding Back the Tide, which just enjoyed 3 world premiere screenings at DOCNYC 2023 and was the recipient of the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Mimesis Documentary Film Festival 2023. Read more>>

Douglas Prodor

Last year was my first year back after a long term hiatus from my passion of comedy. After three years, I reached out to my best friends and immediately hopped back into the scene. I was welcomed back in with open arms and found myself the happiest I have ever been. Read more>>

Dr. Adrienne Whaley

As the executive director of a nonprofit Film Festival – I’m happy that I took the plunge and created a much needed Platform in my community for Indie Filmmakers who produce Movies, Performance Videos and Series Episodes. Read more>>

Jess Rogers

I am an event producer in Kansas City and I amd very lucky in the sense that I get to work on meaningful projects almost every day in my professional role. These projects are not only meaningful to me but also to my entire city which bring a whole new level of appreciation and gratitude. Read more>>

Sarah Sassoon

My most meaningful project to date has been following my heart and researching my Jewish Iraqi family story. This heart passion (obsession) lead me finding my voice in my writing, publishing my first children’s book, Shoham’s Bangle, which came out in 2022, and won various awards, compiling my micro-chapbook of poems based around my Iraqi Jewish grandmother, her Iraqi Jewish food, and the history of the Jews from Baghdad, which was awarded first place in the Harbor Review Jewish Women’s Poetry Prize. Read more>>

Jabari Butler

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on had to be an album called Darling Child. I created this in 2022 and released it in 2023. Darling Child was the second full length body of music I’d ever created. At 11 songs it holds a story and message that I developed throughout the period of my college graduation and first year back in NYC after. Read more>>

Shivangi Gandhi

The most meaningful project I have worked on is the collection I created for my label called ‘Heal’Since I started my label during COVID, the second collection came about when the world was on a journey toward healing, from the virus and the lockdown had led to Mother Nature healing itself. Read more>>

Gear Up

Our team, Gear Up, is part of the FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology, a non-profit organization dedicated to STEM education. We participated in FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), a program that allows teams of middle and high schoolers to build robots for competitions. Read more>>

Eythan Maidhof

I’ve just recently raised 50K for a personal short narrative film that I also wrote and shot. It’s called “Class Clown” and it’s a coming of age film about a kid going to public school for the first time in seventh grade after being homeschooled their whole life set against the backdrop of the day Kurt Cobain died. Read more>>

Katina Nikou

I would have to say the short film I co-wrote and co-produced “Like Nothing Happened”. An industry colleague came to me with a story idea about a once happily married couple who struggle to stay afloat after their recent miscarriage. He asked if I would be interested in writing the script and without hesitation, I jumped at the chance to write my first drama. Read more>>

Wendy Foster

I lost a brother right at the beginning of Covid. Painting provided the solace I needed, working through the timeless and impossible question of Why? Read more>>

Holly Owen

I’ve worked on many projects I’ve found meaningful, from design jobs to furniture flips. But writing my book, “Quit Playing Yourself,” was definitely my biggest passion project. It was March 2020, and I was living in New Orleans. Everything had just shut down. I suddenly found myself out of work, after being nonstop decorating vacation homes. Read more>>

Caren Helene Rudman

I curated an exhibit, Voices & Visions, Standing on the Bridge Between Health and Disease in 2010. It was the first time that I merged my artistic work with what would become a love of curating. I had been making work about genetics, family heritage, and mother daughter connections since graduate school. Read more>>

Hannah Blaylock

In this business there are few times in an artist’s life where they have both the tools and the complete freedom to create their true heart’s vision. That is exactly what this LP, “The Fall & Rise”, is for Hannah Blaylock which is being released on February 9th 2024. Read more>>

Symon Hajjar

I have two meaningful projects that come to mind from this past year. Each opportunity started with a routine “gig” that turned into a multi-dimensional long-term collaboration with my community. Read more>>

Roshunda Hartison

I’ve been blessed to do so many meaningful things so it’s difficult to filter down to one. I would say the one that sticks out the most is becoming a Big Sis with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston. I signed up but had no idea what I was in for. Read more>>

Dr. Brittany Soul

I’m stoked to further lay out my small Business, Soul Stone Group. Which houses publishing for my Creative musical and literary works, but as of 2024, we will offer a myriad of workshops, retreats, and facilitate conversations that inspire and evoke positive change. Read more>>

Kirsten Elstner

National Geographic Photo Camp has absolutely been the most meaningful project I’ve worked on. It started out as this idea to use photography and storytelling as a tool for young people to recognize the power in their voices, share their perspectives and stories, and build meaningful connections. Read more>>

Carlee Seele

I design and manufacture cremation pieces. Read more>>

Jessica Boss

Yes, I’m excited to talk about this, because I just finished one of my most meaningful projects, which is a feature film called UNNAMED that sheds light on the dark and sinister world of human trafficking. Read more>>

Tierra Jones

“Andean Meso: Rise Against The Dominion” holds a deeply personal significance for me. This journey began with my Co Producer Aaron Kelly of AK Entertainment and its my first feature film Im co producing. Beyond its gripping narrative set in a reimagined Washington DC, the project has served as an extraordinary learning experience. Read more>>

Shammah McVay

In the world of Enongo, I joined an amazing project that embodies creativity, diversity, and resilience. A groundbreaking feature-length film driven by the beats of Enongo aka Sammus, a first-generation African American on a quest for a Ph.D. while touring as a rapper. Read more>>

Be Boggs

This is an interesting question for me because i feel like i could answer this with a fresh response every time I begin a new project. Nothing is more meaningful than being conscious of the present moment in my work, and when I connect with a composition or a story, I can’t help but dive into that realm with my primary energy. Read more>>

Manuel Wandl

In February 2020, as part of an ongoing project by the University of Applied Arts Vienna Austria and the private art- and cultural association Nubuke Foundation in Ghana, the development and implementation of a weaving device were carried out. Read more>>

Eve Zhao

The project that holds a special place in my heart is “Tail,” a body horror comedy we filmed in 2022. At its core, the story begins as a fable exploring the theme of breaking free from codependency, but it beautifully evolves into a celebration of women’s versatility and strength. Read more>>

Colleen McDonnell

One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on was a piece called “The Unravelling.” The four portraits depicted are George Floyd, Chul Fong Eng, Uziyah Garcia and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Each were key figures that were a part of major conversations about targeted hate crimes, systematic oppression and human rights. Read more>>

Rhesa Paul

The most meaningful project I’m currently working on is titled, Their Beginnings and Mine. It’s four years in development and has taken me down paths of self-reflection, appreciation, and family history. A prompt for a project I was welcomed to work on became the catalyst, where I had to make a painting based on family history. Read more>>

Theoden Humphrey

It’s hard not to say that my first book, “The Dreamer Wakes,” was my most meaningful book; that was when I realized what path I was going to take as a writer. I had tried writing short stories, and at least one or two poems, before that; I had also recognized that I am quite a good essayist. Read more>>

Kevin Koplar

The album I’m working on now, “To a Better Dark,” is incredibly meaningful. I know most artists probably answer something about their current work (it would be a shame if a project of the past was more meaningful than one of the present, right?) but in this case I’ve never had any project or life decision come close to the number of hours, collaborative opportunities, and sheer grind that’s come close to this effort. Read more>>

Luzhen Qiu

As a Chinese American artist living in metro Detroit, my works are searching ways of bridging two cultures. After I’ve been living in metro Detroit for 24 years, I realized that I’d been obsessed to the Great Lakes since the first time I visited Lake Superior. The rocks, the stories of the shipwrecks at the bottom of the Great Lakes, and water… all goes into my fantasy. Read more>>

Elena Berdnikova

It is important for me to participate in meaningful projects that are dedicated to bringing goodness to the world. Creativity has the power to unite, support, inspire and gently care for others. I would like to share stories about several significant projects in which I participated as an artist. Read more>>

Samantha and Sarah Ferrer

Besides trying to pursue our own careers as visual artist, our meaningful project is our art studio. We have goal of making art more accessible in our local community. Read more>>

Connie Ho Xiang Ning

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on up until now would be “A Man Called Otto.” It was also the most difficult task I have to accomplish in my 3th year as a CG Artist. For the project, the task was to have a full CG cat to replace the real life cat actor when it cant perform some of the required actions. Read more>>

Jon & Yoko Greeney

Two musicians have established a nonprofit organization named “SoundsTruck NW” that features a state-of-the-art mobile stage. Their goal is to enhance access to the arts and uplift communities by using this innovative platform. Read more>>

Elyse’ Jokinen

I recently launched a publication, Wilder Roam, highlighting 45 contemporary artists spanning a variety of mediums. It’s been amazing to see the response from the arts community and beyond . This project spent a lot of time in my head before I was encouraged to not put it off any longer and just make it happen. Read more>>

Joe Wright

I would say my most meaningful project to date would be my youth storytelling program. Near the end of 2019, I had to leave a job that meant a lot to me because of problems I had with one of the partners on that project. Read more>>

Grace Chan

First, I gotta talk about my DIY zine project called I Heart Rudy, dedicated to one my favorite movies of all time, The Monster Squad (1987) . I first saw this movie on VHS as a kid and immediately felt such a kinship with the misfit characters. Read more>>

Fernando Subirats

The Manifestival, The Experience Project Read more>>

Sean Tyler

My first murals will always be a great milestone, but I think the most personal and meaningful work I’ve finished is my MFA thesis show, Dreamland. My thesis show was the culmination of three years of graduate school and four years of undergraduate education. Read more>>

Shauntel Clements

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on so far is a painting titled, “Beginnings”. It is a self-portrait of when I was pregnant with my baby girl. Included with the piece is this artist statement: Becoming a mother is accompanied by a wide array of emotions and brings a new way of life to adapt to. Read more>>

 Jude (Jongwook) Lee

One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on was my first project as an environment artist for a video game, Apex Legends. I was in charge of creating a 3D fence asset called Goliath Fence. I think the fact that the assets I created are appearing in a live game for the first time made me so excited. Read more>>

Elisa Torres

Being the main artist behind the Whale Mural project in Oxnard, California, has been an incredible journey. This endeavor, commissioned by OPAC , Jedidiah and Channel Islands Harbor, allowed me to bring my passion for art and the ocean to life in a way that I never imagined. Read more>>

Half Hour Late

All our projects are centralized around a common theme; “If there’s a will, there’s a way”… The release of our single “Gettin’ By” set the stage for a music video that was to be shot in Slab City, CA. This musical record captures the story of our band accurately… Our gang of oceanic outlaws put together an A-list crew for this representation of life as a music pirate. Read more>>

Kaitlyn Quitiquit

Back in 2021, I had the opportunity to help design a restaurant bar, Hey X Youth, for my cousin, Iconn Cayabyab, in our family’s province in the Philippines. Located in Dagupan, Pangasinan, his goal was not only to host a safe space for Pangasinan’s young generation of creatives to express themselves but to build communities and forge relationships with other small businesses. Read more>>

Juliana Ruggiero

Before i begin, i want to say thank you so much for having me, it’s an honor. My most meaningful project i’ve ever worked on happed almost a year and a half ago now, At the end of my 19th year of life, just two days before i turned 20, i unexpectedly and tragicly lost my dad to the advaced. Read more>>

Janie Robertson

I’ve worked on many wonderful projects during my career and they all have special meaning in their own way. However, in my experience, the most meaningful projects have been the ones where relationships and friendships were formed. Read more>>