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?

Max Weissberg

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the feature film *KARAGANDA*: RED MAFIA. The film depicts the Russian mafia in 1990s Brooklyn, with part of the story set in a 1980s Soviet prison camp in the Karaganda region. Read more>>

Vivian Fang Liu

1. During the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, I wrote music for children to encourage them to take pride in themselves and their heritage. My song Belong became a powerful message of unity and self-worth. The New York State Senator invited me and my students to perform it at the legislative building in Albany before the passage of the AAPI Bill. That moment reinforced my belief in the power of music to create meaningful change. Read more>>

Alican Akman

I made my own movie in this year. It is my own story. My friend is gonna direct it. He helped me to write it as well. It’s so special because it is my first movie I wrote ever ! It is based on true story. It’s dark comedy immigrant story. We shot on Hollywood Blvd. It is really low budget movie. Also I started to do improv shows with my friends. We made improv team. It is so fun journey ! I love make people laugh and I love collaborating with my friends. I wanna make it bigger things with my team. Read more>>

Felix Tandem

Last summer, after two years of being a DIY-EVERYTHING band, we hired a producer for the first time ever. I had three new songs I was particularly proud of and figured, “I live in Nashville, why not use it?” After years of recording guitar parts in my bedroom and mixing things on my 10-year-old headphones, I decided to spend my actual hard-earned money on my art. What?! Insane. I know. Read more>>

Demeter Capsalis

My band Druid Stone is the most meaningful project – nay, it is the thing for which I singularly live. I founded Druid Stone in 2011, with my high school best friends in our hometown of Herndon, Virginia. The original formation of the band was quite abbreviated, because we were too busy being bad kids… and we didn’t realize what we stood to lose in wasting our youth. But the disappointment of the first lineup became poetic in the band’s rebirth, exactly 10 years later. Read more>>

Kacie Brown

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my band, The Vision. It holds a special place in my heart because it gives me the freedom to express myself fully as an artist while also allowing me to collaborate with friends and musicians who inspire me creatively. As the bandleader and co-collaborator, I’ve had the opportunity to write, record, and perform a wide range of original music that I’m incredibly proud of. Read more>>

Twhat Weiland

DIY Drag Show has been one of the most meaningful projects I’ve had the privilege of working on. At the time I formed the project I had just started performing, and it was abundantly clear that opportunities would be sparse if not non-existent. I knew that the only way to continue to develop my own art would be to practice it. And in order to practice it, I would have to create the opportunity I needed… which was the opportunity so many other performers needed. We started from the ground floor, with the basics of producing an event. None of my team had ever worked on anything together previously. I announced to the world that I would be starting up an open stage show with the full expectation to hold all the responsibility of seeing it through. Read more>>

Dom Savant

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was Minor Issues with Classical The Great, also known as The Rappin’ Alaskan. It was the first tape he fully produced himself, and my role was to add drops. At the time, I didn’t really know what I was doing, and my initial attempt didn’t meet Class’s expectations. He challenged me to channel the energy of DJs like DJ Cue and DJ Drama—figures who played a crucial role in shaping mixtape culture. Read more>>

Jime Wimmer

Today, creating children’s books is the most meaningful work I do. I develop my characters with a deeply personal touch, drawing from my own childhood experiences and fears. Growing up, I often felt like an outsider, which fostered a sense of introspection and isolation. At the same time, being surrounded by the woods, fields, and ponds of rural northeast Pennsylvania provided the perfect setting for my imagination to flourish. Read more>>

David Bregande

Graphic design is often a fleeting pursuit that requires creating something that is temporary, of the moment, and quickly replaced by the next round of advertising, a change in the direction of marketing, evolving trends, or lost in the shuffle of multiple publications, email blasts, or digital assets. As a graphic designer, I understand that much of my work will lack permanence, so when the opportunity arises to create something that will have a long shelf life, and perhaps occupy a moment in history, there is nothing quite as rewarding. Read more>>

Rachel Majesty

This morning, I’m up early, buzzing with excitement. It’s not that anything particularly remarkable is happening today—it’s more of a revelation.

Though I’ve always been a creative spirit, it wasn’t until 2023 that I truly found the courage to pursue a career as a fine artist. My first show didn’t come until May 2024, where I debuted a body of work that included a primitive, almost childlike illustration of a cat—something wildly different from what I create now. It’s both exhilarating and humbling to see how much I’ve evolved in such a short amount of time. At the same time, there’s a bittersweet ache for the years I didn’t allow myself to explore this path more fully. Read more>>

Richard Peterson

Right now I’m working on a photobook called CHRONOLIGHT. It’s not something I planned for years or anything like that, it just started to take shape around six months ago, almost on its own. But the images inside it come from the last ten years of my life, and I guess that’s what gives it meaning for me. It’s like, suddenly all these photos I took along the way started to make sense together. Not in a logical way, but more like emotionally, personally. Read more>>

Curtis McCann

The most meaningful project I’ve created would have to be starting Eat , Drink & Tour Saint Louis. In just a year this group has grown to over 30,000 members and 600,000 monthly visitors. This group has become a haven for foodies and tourist to connect and explore their hometown. Read more>>

Pete Abrams

Less of a project and more of an obsession
I am currently designing and building a low cost shelter system that re utilizes plastic film waste as a major component.
It’s an all encompassing obsession , one that saves the world and humanity in many respects, if I may be so grand. Read more>>

Slade Finn

I would definitely have to say my recent album ‘Heart Made of Water’. For many reasons, notably it’s my first official music release on all major platforms, which in itself was quite the milestone. So much was put into that project, many inspiring stories, personal experiences, and fun sounds! There’s so much I could say about each of the 12 songs, but what really set things in motion was an unexplainable event! Let’s just say it all started with a watermelon that (literally) fell out of the sky! Read more>>

Alexis Williams

The most meaningful, and also unexpected, project I worked on, was a spontaneous one that came together in only a few days. I was working on putting together my BFA show, which for my program consisted of filling the space with projects we’ve worked on over our time in school rather than an especially curated body of work meant for the show. There was a large wall in the front of my exhibition space that I wanted to make use of, so I went to the drawing board looking for a creative way to make something new with what I already had. Read more>>

Robert Apiyo

Growing up I always had a penchant for leaders, innovators and creatives who changed the world with their creativity. From engineers such as Nikola Tesla and the Wright Brothers, to musicians and poets including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Brenda Fassie, Johnny Cash, Fela Kuti to painters such as Picasso, and other world leaders such as Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Pele, Maradona, Mohammed Ali, Mekatilili Wa Menza and Dedan Kimathi. Read more>>

John Tedeschi

I formed the film production company, The Continental Shoemakers, to produce edifying narratives that use the emulsion of senses to get to a profound understanding or exploration of a story. Our third production is BEGET – and it is fully my most meaningful project. The backstory is incredibly complex but also fundamental – I thought about millenniums we have been conditioned to accept Queer, BIPOC, and Women as less than, the other, the not the norm, the not as strong, secondary – and why, and why does this persist, and why in 2025 does it appear that that secondary state will be pushed to invisibility and erasure. Read more>>

Soul Soirée

Soul Soirée was founded as a cultural collective in 2021. Originally, we hosted a variety of social and creative events as we tried to establish our brand. However, one event quickly stood out: The Monologue Slam. Not only was it instantly impactful, but it also grew rapidly in a way we didn’t expect. First launched in May ’22, The Monologue Slam is a high-energy theatrical showcase where established and emerging artists share original and published works from plays, TV, and film. Read more>>

Negwes White

A mural I did with a group of native youth for the Native Museum in Evanston The Gichigamiin. The purpose was to raise awareness, promote our values with the world by making a mural that shared part our creation and a mixture of other indigenous stories. Read more>>

Tailyr Irvine

The project closest to my heart—the one that brought me the most joy—was a photo story on powwow fashion for The New York Times in 2022. That year, my tribe was finally able to resume its annual powwow after a long pandemic hiatus. It was a homecoming and exactly the kind of story I needed to tell. Read more>>

Gus Walters

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has to be Murder!—hands down. Founding this band with Tina Williams in 2022 wasn’t just about making music; it was about making a statement. We were both fed up with the watered-down, formulaic ‘pop-punk’ sound dominating the scene, and we wanted to bring back the raw energy and unfiltered intensity of 90s skate punk and melodic hardcore. Read more>>

Haley Lockrem

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was leading a portion of the digital advertising efforts for the Inside Out 2 movie. Working in the entertainment industry, I’m lucky to work on a lot of exciting projects, but this was something special. My talented team and I worked tirelessly to create and manage campaigns that would resonate with people, and it was incredibly rewarding to see the film become a massive box office success. What made the project particularly meaningful was the message behind the film. Inside Out 2 explores the journey of a young girl learning to navigate new emotions, which struck a chord with so many people around the world. It wasn’t just a movie, rather a tool for emotional growth. Read more>>

Sunny St.James

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on isn’t a single event or campaign. A few years ago, I discovered that it’s the ongoing work of helping other people tap into their potential and believe in themselves again. Read more>>

Vivian Yining Cao

One of the most meaningful chapters in my producing journey includes projects like Two Takes: The Peony Pavilion and Salesman之死—both of which reflect the kind of work I care deeply about: culturally grounded, artistically bold, and rooted in community. Read more>>

David Branch

The most meaningful project I’ve produced was for the Detroit Lions and their Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. As a Latino filmmaker, this project meant more to me than just another job, it was an opportunity to highlight my culture on a major platform. Read more>>

Michael Cueto

This is an odd question to me, because I feel that all artistic and creative endeavors are equally meaningful. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t pursue them. I’ve never been able to do anything I wasn’t 100% invested in, at least not without a great deal of struggle, in any area of my life. Read more>>

Jodie Herrera

The most meaningful project I’ve been selected for is a large-scale mural and mosaic collaboration with my mother, Mercedes Montoya, for the Albuquerque Sunport. We’ll be creating it this summer and installing it in early fall. It will combine my large-scale mural painting and mosaic tile work made from clay that my mother will hand-harvest from our ancestral land in Coyote, New Mexico, a place that has nurtured generations of women in our family. The overall concept of the piece celebrates the diverse matriarchs of New Mexico and in turn the New Mexican culture upheld by them. Creating artwork honoring the Matriarch with my mother by hand harvesting clay from our ancestral land is not only an important personal lived experience that I’m excited to share but a project that I think expresses New Mexico’s values and unique culture. Read more>>

Amy-Lynn Howson

In January 2021, after participating in a virtual songwriters’ retreat, I was inspired to start planning a new music project. I could feel that it was time to record something but I wanted it to be meaningful, to come from my heart and not just be a “going through the motions” of trying to put out music to keep up with the mass of music creators online. As I was falling asleep that night, I got a mental image of people walking around wearing t-shirts that said “you are not alone”. It was January 2021, the pandemic was still in full force, I was hearing about rates of loneliness and depression skyrocketing and it hurt my heart. So, I knew it was time to record and release a song I had written several years prior. Read more>>

Anne Sipos

The most meaningful project I have had the privilege of working on and putting together is “Here i Raise My Ebenezer”. This project was a solo sculpture show about the intersection of grief and God in my life. The show was a collection of 7 sculptures that spoke about the letting go of dreams, grappling with the loss of family members, and a lot of change within relationships and the future. A big part of why it was so impactful to me was that it was a marker that God had brought me so far in certain areas of my life, and I was able to be open and vulnerable about it. Even more so than that, I learned and experienced that people meet vulnerability with vulnerability and I got to witness and be a part of many conversations that included statements like “I’ve never told anyone this before”. Read more>>

Noah Parshall

Our upcoming EP, “Brute Amor,” represents the most significant project we have worked on. This work holds profound meaning for us, as we genuinely connect with the themes expressed in the songs. We have dedicated considerable time and effort to this project, and we are thrilled to share it with our audience. Read more>>

Roger Powell

My most meaningful project was my first book of poetry: Dandelions Aren’t Weeds: Poems on Masculinity, Identity, and Life. Because I am a straight, white, cisgendered heterosexual man, folks stereotype me and assume that I want to engage in stereotypical and toxically masculine behavior such as making sexist and homophobic remarks, getting involved in unnecessary violence, not displaying emotion, and being devoid of empathy. This has always bothered me immensely, and I’ve often been told to “man up.” This poetry book draws on narrative poems — poems that tell a story — to process and make meaning of these moments where people wanted me to be toxically masculine. Read more>>

Darryl Dunn

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on was the “Unseen Artists” project. My vision was to bring the beauty and diversity of Black Art directly to the public. With the help of Maria Williams founder of “In Eye of the Beholder “ Gallery and Studio and the “Art of Four initiative “ and Centro San Antonio, my vision came to life. I constructed 10 7 ft benches and chose artist to adorn murals them. I happy to say that the San Antonio airport made a home for them. I like to think that every one who has flown into San Antonio has either seen or sat on our work, which was my goal. Read more>>

Roda

The most meaningful works I have created so far are “Roro Son and Iguana” (2024) and “Larvae Story” (2021). As these two works are closely connected, I will introduce them in chronological order.

“Larvae Story” actually originated from a somewhat silly poem I wrote when I was 17 years old, back in high school, laughing to myself in my room. The poem unfolds into two different scenarios starting from the middle. Read more>>