Every once in a while we have the good fortune of working on a project that we feel truly matters, a project that we’ll still be thinking about years from now. Maybe even something we can imagine telling our grandkids about – surely you’ve had moments like that where something you did in your professional life really mattered?

Kate Surinskaya

In 2020 I was going through a soul search, and I kept reminiscing about my late mom’s life in Soviet Russia and my childhood in modern Russia. I discovered that we had different paths but also eerily similar at the same time. That, along with the yearning desire to honor my mom’s name, to shed light on the life of a teenager amongst tragedy, and to show the life of the country where I was born, propelled me to write, produce, direct, and act in my first featurette film Parallels. I’ve never worked in Russia in film production, and sourcing cast and crew remotely was quite a challenge. I also crowdfunded the film, which I’d never done before. James Baldwin once said: “All art is a kind of confession.” Read more>>

Anna Boothe

Throughout my career, I’ve worked on numerous projects that have been impactful. One of the most pivotal is the project entitled “Between Seeing and Knowing” (2012-2023), which was the result of an on-going collaboration with NYC area sculptor and long-term friend, Nancy Cohen. Even though, conceptually, the project itself was profoundly meaningful to me, it was the symbiotic relationship Nancy and I developed as tandem art-makers that is the reason I highlight this experience. Read more>>

Rodolfo Pedroni

One of the most meaningful projects to me was one of my final sharings as a training actor in NYC.
I’m was born and raised in Italy, prior to attending The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC I’ve pursued acting training since I was five years old in various schools with wonderful artists and mentors that helped me point the way towards something that sometimes I call my hobby, many times I call my passion, and every single time I call my dream. Read more>>

Patrick Williams

When I was 16, driving to my summer job, an original melody suddenly popped into my head. I started singing it aloud and feeling more and more excited. Where did it come from? I’d never had original music come to me. It was energizing! It felt important, and made me want to skip work to go home and record it on my cassette recorder so I wouldn’t forget how it went. I was worried I’d forget and that it would never return to me. I was curious about how it came to be and eager to explore this new experience and try to understand it. Several decades, 3 new albums, and almost 200 original songs later, I still don’t understand how a new song comes to be, but I’m just as energized and curious about it now as I was as a teenager. Read more>>

Julianne Diblasi

I love the story The Alchemist. The idea that we live our lives building seemingly unrelated skills only to find out each little lesson becomes a kaleidoscope of perfect harmony, unlocking a larger, fateful goal in the end.

This is so relevant to how I’ve built my career and how everything came together in the work I’m doing now. My art career started with a degree in classically trained fine art, learning the basics of compositions, color theory, textures, and art history. Read more>>

Blake Kleisinger

“The Get Down” EP is definitely the most meaningful piece mkn coffee has released so far; It’s about my walk through depression, and how I came to put my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ after searching for peace for a very long time. Read more>>

Martin Geller

Designing and illustrating a series of five posters for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., was a milestone project for me. It was my first project for such a huge venue. Secondly, it was the first time I had a client sign a contract I personally drafted, based on a template from The Graphic Design Guild.

I landed this job early in my career, during a time when I was eager to take on as many freelance graphic design and illustration projects as possible. While working in Manhattan as an artist for NBC, I took every opportunity to interview with book publishers, ad agencies, magazines, and record companies. Read more>>

Brittany Devon

One of the most meaningful projects I have done is my short film, Falling. I wrote, directed and starred in this film. It was an all queer cast and crew. This film was produced in my hometown. We shot in spaces that meant a lot to me. I wrote this film to process relationship structures and heartbreak. This all ties into expectation. I have been accepted into many film festivals for this film and won some awards! Read more>>

Courtney Rohan

Recently, I completed a residency with a non profit housed on the west side of Charlotte. The work was based on the city’s playbook in which the city had compiled maps to display demographics, culture, and interviews that allowed residence a voice in order to share their needs. Before beginning the residency, I was asked to consider one issue brought to light within the playbook. One of the things that stood out to me most was how many people mentioned how much litter they encountered in the area. As a result, all of the work that I created was built of refuse. Read more>>

Catherine Reinhart

I always have trouble identifying “the most” of anything.
Because I work cyclically, I am always visiting and re-visiting previous themes, materials or projects.
One work does stand out in my mind.

During the pandemic, I created The Mother Rubbings, a durational performance in which I walked rows of graves, taking rubbings of every headstone marked ‘mother.’ It resulted in photographs, audio recordings, and a scroll. This performance served as a personal and collective means of expressing grief over the deaths of millions of women and mothers due to COVID-19. Read more>>

Alex Ivy

I work on a lot of projects where the client has scars covered up. This can be from surgeries, self harm etc. One that always stands out to me is a young lady that had knee surgery. Due to the way the area was opened and the unpredictable stretching of a knee, she was left with a disfiguring scar that effected her daily life. She hadn’t worn shorts or skirts that show her knee for over 20 years. Read more>>

Sam Novak

Transparently, it’s very difficult to choose between projects. To me, being able to have “full circle” moments in my music career is what pushes me the most. I’ve been able to work on projects that feature Kap G, as well as RemyBoy Monty – like cmon!! Back in the day those were my favorite artists and to say I’m a collaborator with them, 19yo Tweak would be damn proud. Read more>>

Olivia Haller

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve made was my short film [subtext]. When I first moved to LA in 2021 after pivoting to TV/film from theatre, I joined a bunch of writers’ groups to work on projects and make new friends. I read a feature script written by two women, Erin Brown Thomas & Kelly Vrooman, that I thought was very cool – and I made it a point to identify cool people I wanted to get lunch with post-vaccine. When I got lunch with Erin, I learned she was also a director who was looking to make a new directing sample since she hadn’t made anything new post-pandemic. She had also read a pilot of mine that she really liked, so she asked me if I had any scripts to pitch her. I did *not* have any short film scripts, but I knew that I wanted to collaborate on something together, and I loved writing 10-minute plays so a short film was very exciting to me. Read more>>

Catherine Sipher

This past year, I published two projects close to my heart.

In September 2024, I published my first poetry memoir called Barely a Whisper: Poems From the Heart of a Woman Re-becoming.

The lines of these poems were composed in the in-betweens of life…. inside the chrysalis. You know, that part in the butterfly lifecycle when the caterpillar turns into goo – when the caterpillar is no longer and the butterfly hasn’t yet formed. Read more>>

Trish Torline

The “Sisters in Song” CD/Project was meaningful to me because it was a celebration of community, collaboration, and creativity. In early 2024, I came up with the idea of creating an album where I would invite some of my friends—amazing women who do what I do—to record an album of duets. The twist was that I would co-write the songs with each of my duet partners, ensuring that every track reflected our unique voices, experiences, and perspectives. Read more>>

Rob Joyce

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on to date has to be writing and recording my newest single, “Postcard From Heaven”. It’s a song that was written around a phrase that my mother often used referring to something beautiful like a sunset or a sky full of stars at night. My mother passed away two years ago and I wrote this song as a tribute to her after she passed. It also deals with the loss and the longing to be able to speak to her again. Read more>>

Terri Johnson

The most meaningful project I have ever worked on was the Mrs. Rhoda Lee Jones Library Lounge in Accra, Ghana. My great-grandmother, Rhoda Lee Jones, was a sharecropper from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She was a self-taught learner in reading, writing, math, and piano at a time when Black women were not encouraged to pursue education. My great-grandmother was a pivotal figure in my life, always emphasizing the importance and ‘freedom of education’ through reading. It has always been my goal to continue her legacy, and what better way to do so than by dedicating a library in her honor? Read more>>

Breonna Cole

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever worked on was writing a poem for my longtime friend, Dontri Buchanan, after he passed. It was the first time I had written poetry in years, and it brought out emotions I didn’t even realize were sitting so heavy in me. On one hand, I felt this deep sense of joy…like I had rediscovered a piece of myself that had been tucked away for too long. But on the other hand, I was mourning someone who had been such a huge part of my life. Read more>>

Danielle Eze

As an abstract painter, each of my pieces is highly expressive and personal to me, but some do stand out more than others, particularly those that helped me through emotionally turbulent moments in my life. I recall one of the first times when painting soothed my anxiety ahead of a serious surgery. I just started painting the day before my surgery and it ended up being the best thing for me. I went in calmer and more clear headed for it. Read more>>

Jesus Luviano

One of my most meaningful projects is Huetamo Internacional in my hometown of Huetamo, Michoacán, Mexico. This initiative allowed me to bring my international experience back to offer local youth opportunities many, including myself, didn’t have early on. We collaborated with top model agencies and high-fashion models to scout and expose aspiring talent to industry professionals at national and international levels. Read more>>

Simone Kestelman

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was an installation addressing violence against children, presented in a museum in Brazil setting. The project stemmed from my deep concern for the countless children around the world who endure unimaginable suffering, including those rescued from sex trafficking in Cambodia and Vietnam—some as young as ten years old. Through this installation, I sought to create a powerful visual and emotional narrative that would not only raise awareness but also spark urgent conversations about this harrowing issue. Read more>>

Violet Luczak

It’s hard to pick just one project, but the mural I painted for a fundraiser at the Chicago Art Department during my residency stands out. This space was incredibly important to me, as it gave me opportunities, a supportive community, and a place to grow as an artist. Being able to create something for an organization I valued so much made the project even more meaningful. Read more>>

Dan Drossman

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on began in 2013 and, in many ways, is still unfolding today. My journey with chronic pain started when I was 11 years old, a battle that spanned years and took a toll both physically and mentally. Despite multiple surgeries, the pain would always return—often in new areas—and no remedy seemed to bring lasting relief. Then, in 2013, I received a book called “The Divided Mind,” by Dr. John Sarno. Sarno had been helping patients with chronic pain for years, but his approach was unlike anything I had ever encountered. At first, it seemed almost unbelievable. He proposed (in VERY short) that many people suffering from chronic pain do so because of emotional repression, and that the key to healing lay in recognizing and accepting this. He suggested that writing could unlock these repressed emotions, and this was the first step—often the only step—toward healing. Read more>>

Margot Miller

but the most special of all is one I worked on with my son, Max. We started Max and Mom in 2020, during the pandemic. My husband and I had newborn twins and during their nap time, I wanted to make sure to give Max some 1:1 attention and also keep the house (relatively) quiet. Max and I started crafting really regularly during this time and when we made some wall art for the nursery, we had a ton of fun compiling found objects and artfully arranging them. Without knowing it we kind of found our style that way. One of the many pieces we made was a rainbow. A few years later, my wonderful friend who is a set designer asked if Max and Mom had any art she could use to decorate a child’s room with on a movie set. Read more>>

Daniel Muni

As a luthier, I see myself as a caretaker of instruments, ensuring they continue to inspire musicians for generations. Each instrument has a voice, a personality, and a history, and my job is to preserve and restore that voice when it fades.

One of the most meaningful restorations I’ve done was for a professional cellist whose c.1830 Italian cello I had previously restored. After years of joyful playing, disaster struck—an airline accident left the cello with a crushed rib and severe damage. Seeing it in that state was heartbreaking. Read more>>

Allan Ali

In 2022, I embarked on a project in Kensington, Philadelphia, to support local organizations tackling the opioid crisis in the heart of America’s largest open-air drug market. Motivated by the struggles of family and friends whose lives had been disrupted by addiction, I sought to create a body of work that told a fuller, more complex story of this community—one that didn’t just focus on its challenges but also illuminated its resilience, hope, and humanity. The project’s nuanced portrayal caught the attention of Fox News, which featured it in a special segment. This exposure helped us raise over $500 for the cause. Beyond its immediate impact, this experience profoundly shaped me, deepening my passion for storytelling and teaching me the critical importance of attention to detail—a lesson that continues to guide my work today. Read more>>

Hattie Inese

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is “NtimUcy,” a live production I created and produced that showcases creative expression and personal healing. This project brought together artists from diverse backgrounds to share their journeys of self-discovery through poetry, live music, and dance. What makes it meaningful is how it became more than just a performance—it transformed into a space for healing, not only for the audience but for the artists themselves. Read more>>

Julianne Han

The most meaningful project I had the pleasure of working on was a documentary shot in South Korea. “Namhan, Bukhan, Hanshik: Han” was a project shot, produced, and edited in one month with a team of seven people. Together, we interviewed restaurant owners in South Korea who specialized in making North Korean “Pyongyang naengmyeon” a type of cold noodle dish. Naengmyeon has long been a symbol of the hope to reunify Korea: it was eaten at the 2018 inter-Korean summit and many of the restaurant owners we spoke to expressed serving the dish as a way of preserving that hope and desire to see their families reunited. Read more>>

Katie Gray

My most meaningful project to date has been my GROW Confidence workshops for girls. I still remember the day that I knew that I wanted to become a confidence coach. It was during the summer of 2020. My little girl, who was 11 at the time, had a soul-crushing moment when her lack of confidence in herself had left her raw and vulnerable. I was so glad that she’d opened up to me, but also brokenhearted that she was going through so much pain because she didn’t recognize her own value, her worth. Read more>>