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.

Spyros Prokopiou

My artistic work resonates on a conceptual projects, transcending the superficial and decorative aspects of creativity. These projects are driven by the desire to engage with profound concepts and awake emotions. Over the years, I’ve used my art as a form of self-therapy, a means to confront and embrace personal traumas. This theme of personal exploration is reflected in my work. Read more>>

Joshua Alvarez

My most meaningful project would have to be my upcoming album RGB. This project represents the spectrum of emotions and moods we may go through and how those moods reflect in expressions of color, sounds, and visuals. This album is very personal to me as it shows a character arc growing from depression all the way to dependability, and the many stops along the way. Read more>>

Joanne Lazzaro

I “accidentally released” my first solo flute album “Under The Stars” in 2015. I had no business plan for starting my own label – I was simply amazed and overwhelmed by the whole process of recording, mixing, mastering, manufacturing and distributing an album as an independent artist. A colleague advised me to start my own label, and register it, so I did, and JoRazzal Music was born. Read more>>

Scott Partridge

Many projects were / are meaningful to me in different ways, but I’ll mention one that is a personal project called the AVE or Avian Vector Encyclopedia, an illustrated catalog of all living and recently extinct bird species – about 10,000 or more. Read more>>

Kayvon Derak Shanian

While I was attending college during my last year of film school, I was hanging out with some classmates in Santa Monica, we passed the Laemmle theater and there was a huge line wrapped around the building. I asked a guy in the line what’s the line for? He said we’re waiting to see this Iranian film. Being from Iran, I looked over at my friend and suggested – we should make an Iranian film. Read more>>

Liza Philosof

As a professional graphic designer and art director, every project I’m involved in holds meaning. My practice encompasses two avenues: the first involves human relations and communication with clients, while the second centers on the professional practice of graphic design and art direction. Read more>>

Kari Barba

Recently I was diagnosed with Breast cancer. I completed surgery, and Radiation and now have a full recovery. I was trying to think of a way to give back. I’m a tattoo artist and thought of a tattoo a=for charity event, but was approached by a local restaurant to do a collaboration. FAM, FOOD, ART AND MUSIC. Read more>>

PEIYUAN XI

One sultry afternoon in the summer earlier this year, my old friends, as well as a senior producer based in LA Todd Lien gave me a call. I cannot forget where he began on the phone until today. “I have a really good idea and let’s make a gaysian movie together!” Then, there we go, and here we are. We named this film “EKG”. Read more>>

Jerome Hurt

Mental Health has always been taboo and not discussed in the Black Community. I wanted to normalize conversations around Mental Health. It has not been easy. So with there being two wars which has us divided along with politics and its divisive nature I asked our Community to join me in doing 30 Days of Gratitude beginning November 1. Read more>>

Josie + Michael Herman

Great question! Without a doubt, our fiction podcast – THE CALL OF THE VOID is the most meaningful thing we have ever made. We started making the show in our living room with a single Blue Yeti microphone and over three years of blood, sweat, and tears the show now has over 1 million global downloads across 150 different countries and was honored at the Webby Awards this year for best-scripted podcast series. We still get emails to this day from people saying how much the show means to them. Read more>>

Michelle Owenby

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved collecting books and using markers, colored pencils, pens, paints, stamps, decorative paper, journals, books and magazines – all the things that bring artful inspiration. Since I was a little girl growing up in Asheville, NC, things have always been a feast for my eyes; everything looked like art to me: colors, shapes, patterns, nature + architecture. Read more>>

Orlando Solano

Recently, I had the profound opportunity to contribute a poetry piece to “High on The Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America,” a show set to premiere its second season on November 22nd, 2023. This project holds great significance for me as the poem delves into the historical and ongoing disparities experienced by African Americans. Read more>>

Dennis Boseman

Tattoo therapy is a deeply personal and transformative project that merges the art of tattooing with the healing power of self-expression. It serves as a form of emotional catharsis and self-discovery, allowing individuals to externalize their inner journeys through ink. This meaningful project goes beyond aesthetics, becoming a tangible symbol of one’s resilience, growth, and the strength to overcome challenges. Read more>>

Joaquin Soto

In the last few months I’ve been fortunate to be commissioned to create my first large scale outdoor sculpture piece. The work titled “Deep In the Heart Of Texas” is a piece that will be installed at the new Residence Inn hotel, in my home town of Grand Prairie, Tx. It will be the first thing guest see, as they make their way to the lobby entrance. Read more>>

Daemon

I have been quietly working on an album for the past five years. I’ve released mixtapes, EPs, and singles aplenty, but never an album. There’s so much I want to say and so many different ways I need to express myself that it has to be done just right. I also have to make sure there’s an actual audience in wait before I can release this thing into the world, but we’re almost ready. Read more>>

Jihan Latimer

Artistic Statement By Jihan Latimer Read more>>

Blaire Baron

Bringing Myself and Shakespeare along with me to a rural village in Botswana Bringing our non profit youth arts staff with me back to Africa to put on a show in 3 languages Read more>>

Quinn Miller

At the time, I didn’t realize I was depressed. I had friends, family, a roof over my head, even hobbies! But when I laid in bed, I drowned in a sea of thoughts, reaching out for hours, but motivation couldn’t find me. Read more>>

Mitchell Schorr

Most recently I painted murals all around the outside of my children’s elementary school. It took 5 years to get approval from the school board , but the happy faces on the kids and teachers and school staff made it worth it ! Read more>>

Hector Rivera

A meaningful project I have been engaged in for the last 12 years is the release of the first album of the band I am a part of: No Matter What! Read more>>

Kari Trail

My most meaningful project is a publication I worked on this summer called ToolKit: A Magazine On Making. The issue is all about building methodology, and it features conversations about creative process in a generative AI world. The project and subject matter emerged from my own interest in idiosyncratic methodologies—as well as how advances in technology will undeniably prompt creative mutability, reshuffling our own personal “toolkits” along the way. Read more>>

Hugo Gonzalez

The Success Stories curriculum is a meaningful project that I Co created. It s focus is on how toxic masculinity and patriarchy play a vital role in decision-making. The curriculum recognizes the need to address these societal issues and aims to empower individuals to make better decisions and prioritize their lives. CNN filmed a documentary, “The Feminist On Cellblock Y”, in 2018. https://images.app.goo.gl/gCt2QsWmG5wEcgkn6 Read more>>

Dimitri Hale

I released a short film on the anniversary of my father’s passing titled, “A Man That Once Walked This Earth.” I believed that my father’s passing helped me realized my calling on this Earth. I always had an interest in film and storytelling, but it wasn’t clear to me until I started to grieve. I filmed a lot of his last moments without realizing it. Read more>>

DREAMBIIG

Help me refine this answer to the question, “what is a meaningful project you’ve been a part of?” My answer was “DREAMBIIG is the definition of a meaningful project. For us, Johny “YawnyBlew” Gonzalez and Tarik “amir.” Carroll, this album was born from our mutual need for freedom and encouragement around the work we had been doing in private for years. Read more>>

Megha Rao

I have extended my creative journey in choreography combining many Indian dance forms. Uniquely conceptualized and choreographed productions like NAVARASA MARGAM, THE EXILED KING, ARDHANAREE and BAALA-TALE OF KANHA. In recognition of my contribution to the performing arts in Northwest Arkansas, In 2021, I was awarded a grant by Artists 360, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, to support my Dance production – ‘Baala – tale of Kanha’ I recently collaborated with Trike Theatre and Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation to create an original adaptation of the well-known story, The Jungle Book mixed with theatrical storytelling and classical Indian dance. Read more>>

Nell Teare

My film, Bolivar, which is my first feature, is an incredibly important project to me. When I was a little girl, my mother would dream out loud to me and my brother and sister about all of us making movies together someday. She was a stage actress and had cut her career short to become a mother. It was easy to see that she missed it everyday. Read more>>

Tim Herd

I have been blessed to work on a lot of amazing projects that hold significance to me, but the most meaningful project might have to be one of my first projects. This was the development of my mentoring organization during my time as an undergraduate student at Michigan State University. Developing this organization set me on the path that I currently am on in terms of engaging in research and community work simultaneously, which I now do as a PhD student at UCLA. Read more>>

Chantal Soucy

As a death doula, I often see how grief affects people in many different ways, and I have also noticed a lack of community support for people who are experiencing grief and trying to work through it. Because of this, I have started to offer “therapeutic art sessions” either in person or virtually, as group meetings or 1-on-1 for people to share in their grief. Read more>>

Iris Svis

I love movies, so for me, it’s my latest project. We just shot a feature called A Sense of Dread. It was a boarding experience with a lot of obstacles that we overcame together. I believe this on-set experience made us stronger and prepared more for what is to come. Read more>>

Anniwaa Buachie

Back in 2009, I was two years into my professional acting career in London, UK. I looked around me and saw that the roles for Black and women of colour were quite sparse at the time. The roles on offer were, to put it mildly, abysmal. Opportunities for creative growth seemed frustratingly scarce, often leaving us with little choice but to conform to stereotypical archetypes. Read more>>

Jarryd Elias

There have been many, but the most meaningful project I’ve worked on so far has to be “The Automat.” It was scored by the brilliant Dr. Hummie Mann, the mind behind the film scores to “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and “Thomas and the Magic Railroad.” What’s even more amazing? He’s not just a renowned composer, but also my mentor! Read more>>

Pamela Portnoy

In 2022, I auditioned for a role in the short film Harbor, co-written and directed by Keegan Duncan, and co-written by Jack Norris. The film is about siblings who reunite to settle a family debt, and the story revolves around themes of grief, loss, and regret. When I read the script for the first time I was moved and struck by how personal the story was, Keegan and Jack had recently lost loved ones in their own lives. I felt honored to help bring their vision to life. Read more>>

Mike Pinette

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has to be my involvement with the Sphinx Code. The Sphinx Code is a unique personal development and self-discovery technology that unveils the secret code, or blueprint of personal subconscious archetypes. Each blueprint is unique and can unveil an incredibly vast amount of useful knowledge about individuals’ lives, enabling alignment and activation of personal empowerment. Read more>>

Adam Thomason

The current food crisis in Venezuela stands out as one of the meaningful projects I have worked on. At the time of my coverage, it was the height of the food crisis in 2018. People were losing an average of 33 lbs of their body weight; they walked over 300 miles with babies, trying to find food. Read more>>

De Loose Cannon

In 2021 I founded the Hermosa Charity Classic. This is a 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Hermosa Beach. The event was created to raise funds and awareness for local non-profits by bringing people together through our shared love of basketball. Read more>>

Jose Alexzander

“I have been working on the Love for Upcycling project for the past three years. Our company is fully dedicated to promoting and supporting upcycling designers worldwide. Our main objective is to raise awareness about the damage that fast fashion is causing to our planet. We aim to change people’s minds regarding shopping culture.” Read more>>

Jennifer Lyn

I started my podcast late into the pandemic. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to do a podcast. I had such great conversations with my friends who loved hearing my theatre stories, especially when it involved their favorite actors. Read more>>

Almamy

The project I’m currently working on, which is a trilogy of concept albums exploring themes of identity, coming-of-age and agency. I tentatively started to work on it about a year or two after the sudden death of my father, as it was the only way for me to somehow come to terms with that loss, and explore some unresolved issues. Then it took another year to fully commit to it. Read more>>

Dylan Overhouse

“Cooking with Bao” and the similar work I have done with the nonprofit For Independent Hmong Farmers Corp. During the height of the covid-19 pandemic, my partner, a few friends and I successfully produced a local cooking show and fundraised thousands of dollars for La Crosse area Hmong farmers after learning of the unique struggles these local farmers had been facing. Read more>>

Samuel La’ Von Jackson

My upcoming project, Dear Ms. Wisdom. A lot of passion went into this piece of work and I believe it will resonate with many listeners. Read more>>

Yuriko Shibata

Picture this: right after graduating from NYU Tisch, I wasn’t exactly rolling in dough, but I wasn’t surviving on instant ramen either! It was more like a balanced diet of aspirations and optimism. Then, out of the blue, “SKIN” waltzed into the scene like a knight in dazzling armor. While it may not have turned me into a musical mogul overnight, it did something even more reassuring– it marked my Off-Broadway debut. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was because that happened in a flash. Read more>>

Brian Kinney

Our second album Heaven In A Hurry is very important to our band. We started working on it before the pandemic. Seeing all the confusion and radical behavior around us started to get us thinking about cult mentality, the apocalypse, the cycle of nature, and extinction. We would sit outside and talk about tying concepts together to help make sense of the confusion, but also to indulge in it ourselves. Read more>>

Randall Kenneth Jones

I am my arts education. My career as an author, speaker, collaborator, innovator, and storyteller-for-hire all tracks back to my time spent acting, singing, dancing, public speaking, and, yes, marching across a football field with a saxophone in my hand. Read more>>

Jamila Hache

My latest project currently out happens to be a very meaningful one for me. Not only I got to be part of a great story that changed me forever but also, I met incredible creatives. The whole team was a dream. Read more>>

Alexa Simeone

I redesigned a utility cart. Built-in collapsible tables and created a mobile, push-powered, art cart and took it to the streets. What I once tested with a pilot youth program for the city teen center – today, is an environmental action movement. Learners acquire a new science identity and liveout the message of sustainability. Read more>>

Chris Ortiz

This is a tough one to answer because all of my projects are important to me. I think the one that hits home most though is the book that I had written about a father/son relationship that was loosely based on my experience. The reason that it was so meaningful was because my father had known about the project and was quite proud of the fact that he was going to be in a children’s book that showcased our relationship and the city. Read more>>

Heather Murphy Capps

My debut novel, Indigo and Ida, began as a connection to a favorite song by the Indigo Girls–“Galileo.” I knew I wanted to write a song that included a reference to the first stanza, which refers to Galileo being persecuted for telling the truth. I also knew I wanted to write a story about the death of meaningful friendships–about betrayal and loss. Read more>>

Asia Clark

I’m very excited to release my newest single, GAG ORDER. Read more>>

Santana Vigil

Definitely the most meaningful and important project to me at the moment would definitely be my current band Virginia’s Basement. We are a BIPOC+ Emo band from Saint Paul and we make very pretty songs that get very tough with added gritty vocals yet screaming and singing about problems in our communities and in our lives. It is also named after my mother Virginia who has been a vital part to my whole world and how I navigate the scene. Read more>>

Tony Hale III

One of my most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was “When it Started”, a project that was devoted to spreading awareness on sexual trafficking in not only the United States, but in the United Kingdom as well. It was most likely one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever done as an actor because I had to act like an absolute monster. Despite that, I was committed to spreading awareness to that problem and was more than honored to be apart of that project. It will be showing in USA and United Kingdom. Read more>>

Porsha Davis

Omg!!! I have so many meaningful projects that I’ve done within my styling career as a wardrobe stylist. I would have to say one of my meaningful projects was working with the singer Nivea when she was in Chicago for business. She has such a beautiful story and come on it’s Nivea that sings “Laundromat, 25 reasons, and complicated” to name a few. Read more>>

Paisley Devi

When I first began to facilitate retreats, I didn’t follow any of the marketing research or feasibility analysis that I learned in business school. I felt in my heart that there was a need and demand for wellness retreats in Northeast Ohio, and knew that despite working as a wellness professional here and being heavily immersed in the Yoga community, retreats that peaked my interest and struck me as deep and authentic were few and far between. There just weren’t many being offered overall. Read more>>

Christopher Davis

There was a song I did with my family during Christmas a few years ago. I means so much to me and it may never come out. I got my dad to sing too. Read more>>

Justin Knodel

Up to this point the most meaningful or impactful project I have worked on is the biopic feature film, Al Ittihad. It is a feature film I was the cinematographer for in fall of 2022 and is having its world premiere in Jeddah on November 23rd. Beyond the overall scale and scope of the project being the largest I’ve ever tackled with writer/director Hamzah Tarzan, it was also the most challenging. Read more>>

Jana Hahn

Have you ever wondered, “How am I here right now?” that was my exact thought process as I worked on set for a feature film for a local author here in Tennessee. Not only had I grown up reading and loving the author’s work, but I understood the purpose from which she wrote from: life incorporated with God’s truth. I had only lived in Tennessee for a few months when God started opening up doors in the creative arts/ entertainment industry. Read more>>

Alex

As a teacher on TikTok, my initial project was to shed light on the life of a substitute teacher, focusing on strategies to foster an inclusive and safe classroom environment. To my surprise, the positive feedback poured in, and I soon realized that sharing my experiences as an educator could have a profound impact. Not only did fellow teachers engage, but even non-educators began seeking insights from my classroom adventures, sparking a broader conversation on inclusivity. Read more>>