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?

Kendra Petersen

Commissions have a special place in my heart. There is something wonderful about creating for a specific person. The last couple of years have been hard on a lot of people and I’ve had the opportunity to be able to bring something beautiful into their lives. People have lost loved ones or pets and I was given the honor to help memorialize them through art. Read more>>

Cydney McQuillan-Grace

I would say my original music is the most meaningful project I’ve worked on. I have been a working performer since I was 13 years old and I believe all of the projects I’ve been a part of before have been preparing me for releasing my own music. There’s nothing more incredible than seeing something you’ve created from nothing come to fruition. It’s the most vulnerable and deeply personal project I’ve ever shared with people. Read more>>

Kyzandrha Zarate

The White Squirrel Artisans Market (WSAM) This project is the most meaningful project to me because it encompasses everything creative I’ve ever wanted to pursue in life. When I was young, my parents and teachers would ask what I wanted to be or do in life, and my answer was always the same. “I want to help people.” Read more>>

Ryan Lynch

Our first single, The Credit Reel. Before ever playing live, we wrote our debut record, Kosciuszko, and booked studio time, only playing one secret show to get a better feel for the energy of the songs we were about to record. We finished tracking in February 2020 and ended up mixing the record remotely with our producer as the pandemic began. Read more>>

Jason Gato

I’ve been involved with several projects over the years. They’ve all meant something different to me on a professional and personal level. By far, SIlenmara has been the most meaningful project I have ever worked on. The music speaks to me a different way in this band, it seems to capture a part of me I cannot put into words. All the current members of Silenmara all come from such different backgrounds and listen to such different kinds of music. Yet we all have found common ground here. Read more>>

Tj Templeton

The body of work that I completed most recently held a great deal of personal importance to me. Not only did the work break new ground for me in my actual process (implementing new tools and techniques), but it was also deeply personal and introspective. Read more>>

Jakari Lister

My most meaningful project is currently my graduate thesis film that I’m working on in post-production right now. The story was inspired by my breakup last year, which triggered me to sit down and write. I’ve never been one to withhold my feelings, so when I write stories since I’ve been in this graduate program, I’ve done my best to ensure my stories aren’t just ideas out of thin air, but relatable concepts. Read more>>

Michael Waldo” Foeller”

“Heaven To A Torture Mind” grew out of a project where I explored the idea of other people’s relationship with their own aloneness. I wondered what they did when they were alone? What did alone look like to them? I became obsessed with those questions and began to try to answer them for myself. Read more>>

Leslie Fitzsimmons

A significant and exciting point in my art practice took place last year, when I co-curated the exhibition LOCUS with fellow artist and good friend, Brett Piva. Piva and I shared evolving creative connections and admiration for each other’s art practices over the 5 years I was living in Newcastle, Australia. Early on, we knew we needed to develop a group show together as our ideas and artwork are complementary. Read more>>

Greg Hatton

Perhaps the most meaningful project I’ve worked on came by way of an exhibit called “Electric Revolutionaries” put on by the Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation (MAF) and was showcased at the Petersen Automotive Museum, in Los Angeles, California. Read more>>

Beth McKee

I founded and lead a non-profit organization dedicated to community service and supporting marginalized artists. The Swamp Sistas La La Foundation uses music and other media to raise money for community causes while creating gig opportunities, networking and mentorship for emerging artists, with an emphasis on women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC creatives. Read more>>

Madame Maize

I am currently working on a meaningful project and I am very excited to share. I started writing music at age 15 and I fell in love with the art of being able to express myself through music, it felt like a safe place to me. I always dreamed about coming out with my own EP or album. I knew I had to remain patient and resilient if I wanted to see the creative visions I had for myself to come to life. This past year of 2022, I felt closer than ever to reach my goal. Read more>>

Elise Iglio

From the beginning of my artistic journey 10 years ago, I yearned to create something that was meaningful to people in some way. I tried photography, and though I enjoyed it I never felt like it meant anything. I found I could be more expressive if I used traditional ways to make art. The only problem was I had nearly no experience, and I wasn’t very good. Read more>>

Cat Willett

I recently worked on a personal comic essay for the gender section of the Washington Post. It surfaced thoughts that I struggled with during my postpartum experience. After having my baby, I had a hard time navigating not only the immense lifestyle change that I went through, but also the physical changes to my body. Read more>>

Vibeout.

Note To Self (Project) I dropped in January the project was more of me, becoming more vulnerable in music and opening up a different avenue far is in my sound instead of just the regular basis of music that comes from me. I feel like I did take a small risk by that I think now that it’s being rewarding. As I tapped into house music R&B and hip-hop vibes, and keep it the jazz hip-hop vibes as well. Read more>>

Rafael Luna

I feel like a meaningful project that I’ve worked on which was of utmost importance personally would have to be when I decided to release a solo flute album. This goes back to 2015 when I was about to complete my undergrad studies at CalArts. I wanted to create something as a form of culmination and perhaps future sense of purpose as a performer. Read more>>

Audra Miller

A couple years back when the Me Too movement was in full swing, I really wanted to find a way to visually show the resiliency of women, to represent them as strong and not victims. I came up with the idea to create the She Rose project. In this project I interviewed over 30 women of all walks of life, Read more>>

BlkBird

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my debut EP “– to ash”. I have recorded and released music before as part of a band but this was my first solo work and I had complete creative freedom and got to express myself fully and completely for the first time. I got to work with 3-time Grammy award winning producer, David Bottrill (Rush, Peter Gabriel, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool) and learned so much from him. Read more>>

Stone

Over the last year and a half my band Prtty Ridiculous has been my baby. We’ve carved out a niche we like to call Nightmare Pop. It’s Industrial Dance Beats, Deep Cinematic Synths, and the heaviest f*cking Guitars. I like to say it sounds like Billie Eilish and Nine Inch Nails stole your car together. Artists search thier whole lives for “a sound”. I know I’ve found mine. Read more>>

Efua

The most meaningful project I have worked on is honestly myself. I have always been someone who is motivated by self improvement. I have always seen myself as a project who is constantly evolving. Working on things like self love, awareness allowed and many other things allowed so many other beautiful things to flow out of me. I always get the question, How are you so happy? Or why are you always smiling? It’s because I truly love myself I love my life. I love my family and I have so much to be grateful for. Read more>>

Jason Haaf

One of the strongest or most meaningful projects I worked on was my book, “Harsh Cravings.” “Harsh Cravings” is a diary-style queer memoir that I wrote over three months during the summer and fall months of 2020. I believe that queer literature can often be overshadowed or watered down, especially if and when it hits the mainstream. I wanted to tell stories and thoughts about my own life, unfiltered, that another queer person may relate to. Read more>>

Mariah Obiedzinski

I’m fortunate to do meaningful work in my regular career and my consultancy, which is more a passion project than a money-making machine. At Stamats, my team and I help healthcare, higher ed, and B2B professional services teams tell impactful stories and share thought leadership content with a range of audiences, answering their most pressing questions across a variety of media. Read more>>

Nay Marie

The totality of my work is an ongoing meaningful project – my purpose is to help my global community achieve their intentions and desires – but a segment of my artistry that swells my heart is creating adornments for people living with alopecia. Read more>>

Johanna Yukiko Haneda

I have just finished the recording process of a Mini Album with lullabies collaborated with The Teshin Company. Working on the mini album of lullabies has been an uplifting and meaningful experience. It is a way to express my creativity and a chance to share something positive and calming with others. This Mini Album consists of three Japanese Lullabies, one Western Lullaby, and two originals. Read more>>

Marc L.

I would say that my most meaningful project would be upcoming album “Phase 1”. For years I trained myself to find my own sound instead of trying to sound like other artists. This album is raw and authentic. It feels like I’m finally releasing what was bottled up inside of me my whole life! This journey has been life changing. Download my album “Phase 1” on all platforms on March 1, 2023. Read more>>

Kofi Oduro

One of the most meaningful projects, I have worked on is Colorscape. The reason why I catergorized as this is because it has allowed me to showcase to others that technical fields such as data science and coding can be used to explore worlds and ideas that are outside our thoughts. Read more>>

Phillip Wheeler

The most meaningful projects to me personally have been the film ideas I come up with from scratch. For example, I start with a simple idea for a concept then grow it into a screenplay which then will turn into a film if it’s what I choose to do with that story. As of right now, my first feature film is nearing its completion and has earned a spot in my most meaningful because I have never worked this hard on one idea before in my life. Midknight is going on 4 years in the works. The plan is to have its first screening this year for an audience in Macon Georgia. Read more>>

Heather Wright

I am passionate about networking. I love bringing people together and believe we are always one friend away from solving problems. The work I’m most proud of brought people together. I didn’t even have a creative hand in building it, but it was my project and it facilitated great things. Read more>>

Leigh Anne Taylor Knight

As you might know, The DeBruce Foundation’s mission is to expand pathways to economic growth and opportunity. We do this by developing resources and initiatives to help individuals plan, pursue, and build their careers. We are fortunate to get to work with many meaningful partners and projects across the country. Read more>>

Miguel Munoz

Karnival of the Arts Read more>>

star bourgoyne

My most meaningful project was my photoshoot at an Adobe Road wine-tasting event. This project means a lot to me because it was one of my first legit photoshoots, and this shoot was one of the first times I felt like an artist. I was nervous going into this shoot because I was still trying to find my way as a photographer, and shooting at a public event with people watching was initially intimidating. Read more>>

Erwin Ong

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is a mural that I created for the Serious Fun Arts Festival in White Plains, New York, called “Fish City.” The mural included many of my fish characters, and allowed me to celebrate the city I live in while also showing my work on a large scale. This was my first time creating something of this size (24″), Read more>>