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.

Kelly McKay

As a former semi-professional athlete, storytelling has always been rooted in sport for me – it just eventually found a different outlet through film. The transition into directing wasn’t a clean break; it felt more like a continuation. The mindset I developed as an athlete – discipline, adaptability, learning how to respond in real time – naturally carried over into the way I approach storytelling. Read More>>

AnnMarie LaBollita

I feel the most meaningful project I made was about the invasion of Ukraine in the winter of 2022. I made a fabric collage on a curtain valance the following spring while at the same time emptying my mothers house as she was entering a nursing home. The idea of losing one’s home, physically and mentally was constantly on my mind. Read More>>

Matt Ehnes

While making a living from your favorite pasttime can be one of the greatest privileges in life, it also comes with its own set of unique challenges. When work and passion are blended, the fire of the passion can begin to dull. Passion projects have been absolutely paramount to me to help mitigate this problem. Read More>>

Lindsey Roussel

When I first started professionally showing my work I was fresh out of school and joined a local community art show called ArtBar. ArtBar was and still is a show by artists, for artists. Read More>>

Sarah Majors

The church where I serve as Senior Pastor is deeply committed to community. Our building is not just used on Sundays for worship—it is alive with purpose throughout the week. Read More>>

Rebecca Mousseau

We work with different charity organizations to provide hair and makeup services and some of the most meaningful work I’ve done is work with underprivileged kids. In our every day life, we provide elevated beauty services for luxury clients and brides in Palm Beach and destinations world-wide. I love the creativity, adventure and joy we bring to our clients. Read More>>

Leilah Hicks

This prior year, I was discovered while selling my artwork at Culture Canvas Cafe, a southside Chicago community vendor market, as a replacement for another vendor. I was appraoched by the founder of The Learning Tree, an organization focused on the utilization of asset based community development to support adults with developmental disabilities. Read More>>

Chris Bannor

I just published my first novel, The Bleeding City. I’ve spent a lot of time writing short stories and editing anthologies, so this is my first novel-length project on my own. I began writing it in 2022, but had to put it aside for other things. It’s been a labor of love, and I’m so thrilled to finally have it out in the world. Read More>>

Don Garrett

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has been my DryBar Comedy special. It’s titled ‘Nice Guys Finish Worst.’ It’s literally the story of my life. It’s my most meaningful project because of my upbringing. I’m from a small, country town called Southampton County, VA. My little part of the county has a population of 2,000 people or less. Read More>>

Eileen Tongson

I have had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with some wonderful and creative people through my business FarmGal Flowers. A couple of years ago, I was asked by Debra Prinzing, founder of the Slow Flowers Society, to participate in a book she was bringing to life entitled The Flower Farmers. Read More>>

Omar Castanon

I am currently working on a project that is made up of self-portraits and still lives. While I primarily take photos of others, I enjoy the process of taking photos of myself in order to tell a narrative story about my own life. Read More>>

Erica Whitney

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my debut album, FACE THE MUSIC. It represents the beginning of everything for me—not just as an artist, but as someone learning how to turn ideas into something real. I started writing songs for that project when I was really young, around 13, before I fully understood what it meant to pursue music as a career. Read More>>

Caroline Hagan

As I began my current series of paintings based on quilts and their patterns, I was initially interested in an exploration of color, pattern, and the visual language of quilt design. I was drawn to their structure and repetition. As I shared the work viewers began connecting the paintings to personal memories-of grandmothers, mothers and the act of quilting itself. Read More>>

Azra Rahman

Writing, by itself, is a meaningful endeavor for me. Most of what I write is heartfelt and is written with the desire to connect with readers through words. If I have to pick one project which means slightly more than the others, I would pick volunteering with Al Mustafa Foundation of Utah, a local NGO; in putting together the history of Muslims in Utah. Read More>>

Yoona Hwang

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my short animated film, ‘Silence.’ It began as my MFA thesis film in Animation, spanning roughly 18 months from the initial ideation in September 2024 to the completion of production in March 2026. This project is deeply significant to me because it is the first film I have directed entirely on my own. Read More>>

Yuan Tian

One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on is Back on Rail, a brownfield restoration masterplan in Tianjin, China. This project is particularly significant to me because it reflects my approach to landscape design, not as surface beautification, but as a process of ecological repair, transformation, and long term coexistence between people and the environment. Read More>>

sasha perelman

The most meaningful project of my life is also the most personal one: my debut memoir, The Longest Road, published in December 2025. I’ve spent nearly two decades as an experiential producer, crafting immersive moments for brands and audiences. I know how to build a story for someone else. But writing this book meant turning that lens entirely inward, and that terrified me. Read More>>

Roger Carefree

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on to date would definitely have to be my very first mixtape Carefree Menace. The raw emotion, energy and dedication that went into its creation was enough to give me the jumpstart needed to blaze a path for my career. It was definitely a building block and turning point in my life. Read More>>

Jennie West

To date, one of our most meaningful community-oriented projects has been a temporary art and lighting installation we helped produced on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street during the holiday season in 2025. Titled “Second Line in the Sky,” the idea was conceived in response to the January 1st, 2025, New Year’s attack—a moment that truly shook our community. Read More>>

Lucia Bellini

I’m a relatively “young” writer. I only started because I had to. During my last two semesters at Hunter College as a film major, screenwriting classes were mandatory. At first, they scared me. In time, I realized it was because I wanted to be good at it so badly that it felt safer not to scratch at that at all. Read More>>

Veronika Gant

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever worked on wasn’t something I planned to be extraordinary at the time. It was a simple session with a client who wanted to capture a beautiful moment in her life – something timeless, something she could hold onto. Just a few days after our session, she unexpectedly passed away. Read More>>

Samuel Zeeryp

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is The Hairapist Project, a documentary-style initiative that provides free hair transformations for individuals in addiction recovery. While it centers around hair, it’s really about identity, self-worth, and emotional transformation. The project is rooted in my own experience with addiction and rebuilding my life. Read More>>

Sarah Brodeur

The most meaningful project I’ve had the honor of working on is something I call a “Legacy Bowl”. I met the Wagenblast family in the Summer of 2025 at a market in Maryville. I was selling pottery and they were selling the best pico de gallo I’ve ever had. Ever. Read More>>

Shaun Rylee

My projects are always deeply rooted in personal yet relatable meaning. Each seems to be the most meaningful as I work through the entire process from conception through premiere. I think ‘À Volonté’ might be the most vulnerable so far, so it is particularly meaningful. Read More>>

Krystalynn Ulrich

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is my “Sustainable or Greenwashing” series. I started it after noticing how overwhelming—and honestly misleading—the online space can be when it comes to “sustainable” or “wellness” products. Read More>>

Lanna Brasure

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is the Gratitude and Reflection Journal I created. I had just gotten divorced and moved into my own apartment, this would be the first time in my entire life I would be living on my own. Every other time I had lived with family, boyfriends, friends, my sisters, or my husband at the time. Read More>>

Annie Seaton

Two years ago, I was approached by a design firm in Hawaii to create a commissioned piece for a private residence. The client wanted to surprise her husband with an artwork of him surfing. It was especially meaningful because he had recently been in a skiing accident that left him paralyzed. Read More>>

Lumin O. Morgan

One of the most meaningful project I’ve ever created was made with a dear friend of mine and incredible artist named Wren Turner, (Her handle on Instagram is @cheriscales) and it was this mini comic that we titled, ‘Replanted.’ I wrote this zine as a way to express myself and how I felt about the status of my friendships at the time. Read More>>

Debbie Silberberg

Last fall, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a lifelong friend, a painter, Tony Staniscia. He is a wonderful painter but reluctant to show his work. I convinced him that we should combine our talents and work together to do a show at a local hotel. We filled the Nyack Hotel lobby with our art work. This collaboration was new to both of us. Read More>>

Rosa Palmas

Truth be told, there isn’t one specific project I cherish above all others. Instead, my creative work reflects the different chapters of my life. In my younger years, I was a dedicated full-time knitter; after purchasing a knitting machine, I produced thousands of garments, from sweaters to dresses. I also specialized in handcrafted baby sets, blending machine work with traditional knitting and crochet. Read More>>

Tia Coles

One of the most meaningful projects I worked on involved a client who was in remission from breast cancer. She had lost all of her hair during her treatment and had grown some of it back, but like in many other cases it did not grow back the same. Read More>>

Aileen Cook

I have three meaningful projects, One, my husband adores and is the only project he ever helped me with. Trucker Daddy is a family favorite for us. My husband is a truck driver; he has been most of our twenty-five years together. Read More>>

Kai-Hsiang Yang

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is an animated short, Immémoriale. What made it especially meaningful was that the film had no dialogue — the entire story had to be carried through music, sound, and visual storytelling. From early on, I was involved in shaping the film’s emotional arc through the score. Read More>>

Abigail Rothman

In 2021 I participated in an Art residency at Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, South Carolina. We were invited to live INSIDE the museum and create work using materials from the collection to then remain on display. During my time there I worked on a project entitled ‘Interstitial.” Interstitial – the space in between. I thought about the word in the context of time. Interstitial moments. Read More>>

Samantha Tay

The most meaningful project that I have worked on up to date has to be the series of bear drawings I have done over the past year. At first, it was just a way to motivate myself to sit down and draw everyday. Read More>>

Jennifer O’Brien

Resource Depot is, without question, the most meaningful project I’ve ever been a part of as an artist—though it doesn’t always look like what people expect when they hear that word. My canvas just happens to be a nonprofit. Read More>>