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?

Anna Hamer

When I was an art student in Florida one of my three jobs was as an art teacher for a local church on Saturday afternoons. I was only 18 and had never taught anything before but being the oldest of nine children had given me (in my mind) some experience with kids. The only supplies we had were markers and paper. For some reason I asked these five eight-year-old boys to make self portraits. We had no mirrors! One of the students drew himself so small in the very middle of this big piece of paper. Read more>>

Tito Crespo

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the project I’m currently working on, “The Family Album”. This album is based on people and characters that I consider family. There’s songs about my immediate family, a song about work, a song about a friend, my home town, and of course some love songs; although they all feel like love songs to me. As I wrote this album I pulled on lessons that I’ve learned about myself and life from these muses. Each of these songs are layered with the intent and homage to family. They have grown out of just being about their muse into multifaceted pieces that highlight family in many ways. Read more>>

M’Shai Dash

It’s difficult to single out one particular project but I’ve definitely worked with people who influenced me, connected me to opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise known about, and will always mean a lot to me. After successfully pitching a few articles early on in my freelance career, I was stoked to find paid work with blackscifi.com. I stayed on with them for years and my fellow writers for that online mag became huge inspirations for me. One, Robert Jeffrey, is an amazing editor and comic book writer. Read more>>

Teneia Sanders

I would say the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the one I’m working on currently. I’m working on a new collaborative album that involves Black creatives internationally and nationally. Right now, I’m collaborating with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra on a BLM chamber choir piece and we are joining forces with our local community to do so. Read more>>

Kaitlin Earnest

I did a photo project that I titled “Bodies Are Beautiful.” I grew up in the height of purity culture. I was taught that “modest is hottest,” and that my body was dangerous. I lived with a lot of shame about my body and what I did or did not want to do with it. I know a lot of people who grew up in the church also were taught this and experience this same shame and trauma. Read more>>

Kelly Ulrich

The most meaningful project has currently been the Director for Cynthia Doll’s video for “Cynner”. Cynthia Doll is a local drag queen here in Kansas City Missouri, we started working together around January and did a project previously before Cynner. The story of Cynner was about one of the hardest times in her life a few years ago. She has never fully trusted someone with such an intimate story of her life; and when she asked me I was shocked; yet relieved. I was shocked because she has never been super vulnerable through her music videos. I was relieved because I knew I could execute her version her way if she was right by my side, and luckily that’s exactly what happened! Read more>>

Mack Oner

In 2015, the OCR Kings started making YouTube videos with the intent to help others to succeed in their fitness journey, especially in running and Obstacle Course Racing. We vow to encourage and assist anyone, regardless of age or level of athleticism. Our most meaningful experiences have been giving the community an opportunity to express themselves about their fitness objectives, the trials of attempting to get back in shape, and struggles in overcoming adversity by featuring their stories and videos on our YouTube channel. Read more>>

Marquis Hardy

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on would be the one I’m working on right now. I’m writing an album called ‘Things People Feel’ and it’s been so fun, and in some ways has actually been easy. When writing, a lot of people will direct you to write what you know, and this is a lot of that. We feel a lot of things, whether it’s adoration, joy, excitement or even sadness and it’s okay that we do! The feelings that we otherwise wish we could avoid make all of the ones we hope for that much better! Read more>>

Zakk Hartwig

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on was my first photo book titled “issue .000”. The number was .000 instead of .001 because to me it felt like an experiment before the real experiment. In other words, it was an introduction to a new concept that I was still fleshing out and wanted to explore further. Read more>>

Arianna Peffer

One of the most meaningful projects that I’ve worked on was my wedding from April 22nd, 2022. This was one of the first couples that I took on after I moved from California to East Tennessee, and little did I know that it was not only going to be the start of an amazing planning experience, but a life long friendship as well! Read more>>

Frankie Orella

I’ve always loved telling stories, but some stories are just harder to tell. When I was 17, my mom passed away after a five year battle with breast cancer. I’ve always found it easy to talk about the facts of what it was like to have a sick parent, how it affected our family dynamic, what the funeral was like, etc. I think staying on the facts and not getting into the emotion of it all was a helpful (at the time) protection mechanism. Read more>>

Jerry Miller

Less then 20 disc dyes into my art career, I was asked to do a dye on a new special version- disc that was also glow in the dark. Dye can cover up the luminosity of glow discs, so I knew my dye art needed to be on the lighter side. Going for a more minimalist approach worked out great and I was happy with how it looked both in normal light, and while glowing. The process I used involves Clear Glue and Fish Lure Dye, and needs to be set upside down for several hours before being able to clean it and see what the final product looks like. Read more>>

Denise Zubizarreta

Building my first solo exhibition was quite the undertaking. For me, it wasn’t just about having a solo show, it was also about sharing work that was deeply connected to my ancestry. “El Bohío del Bohiti” was not only the culmination of my BFA, it explored how we can heal through visual art. It allowed me to work as a visual curandera by focusing on healing our story through the tarot. Read more>>

Charlise

I’ve been through many situations I don’t completely bring to light. People tell me that I’m mature for my age, but really I was born with the notion of standing up for myself; I just had to get to a point where I could exercise it. Even now, it’s not easy. All my life, I’ve been told I was so strong. Well what happens when the strongest person isn’t strong anymore? I started to believe that having feelings and being in love meant that I was weak, and that I had to keep my woes to myself. Read more>>

Maria McDowell

Being a part of Underground Atlanta as it is right now holds a ton of meaning for me. I lived at The William Oliver Building in 2002 and grew very fond of this area of the city and the local residents. Walking down to the Underground happened almost daily for me back then. Emmcdee Gallery allows me to be a part of that spark we see in people – it is a place where they come to share their lives, celebrations, performances, exhibitions, networking events and collaborations. Read more>>

Elizabeta Vidovic, Kathryn Michelle, and Izabela Vidovic

The most meaningful project we have worked on as a trio was our latest feature film, The Accursed. The project was actually written by Elizabeta and Kathryn over a decade ago, making it one of the first screenplays the ladies wrote together! When they revisited the idea and decide to bring it to fruition, it made it all the more special considering it felt like their baby. In addition, it was the first full-length feature that Izabela co-produced with the company, at which point she decided to join the team full time. Read more>>

Hannah Schiller

A few years ago, I was introduced to Lara MacGregor. She was the founder of a non-profit, and a woman living with metastatic breast cancer. It felt like my first “big gig.” While I had other branding projects before this one, it was the first one where I knew no one in the room I was entering. It felt like a massive accomplishment to even be given the opportunity to pitch a job where I wasn’t there because I knew the owner. Anyways, she was nearing a shift away from her non-profit and coming into her own personal brand as a writer, speaker, and change-maker. Read more>>

Daniel Childs

The most meaningful project I’ve ever developed, by far, has been my debut album “Escape”, which we released last year. Working in music for 15+ years now, I finally got to do what I had always truly wanted to do – write, record, and release my own project. And I wouldn’t change a thing. The seven songs that made the cut are really heart-felt tunes about real experiences in my life. To turn those real and meaningful experiences into an actual album release is an amazing feeling. I can only hope that the messages in the songs are an encouragement to people. Read more>>

Vincent Connell

“Pyschosis”, an album I wrote/produced in 2019 is one of the most meaningful projects to me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an irrational fear of losing my mind. Mental illness runs in my family, (I myself have Bipolar type 2) and I have seen more than my fair share of terrible outcomes associated with a broken psyche. This left me with an everlasting need to understand human behavior. Read more>>

Joanna Read

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date is the forthcoming E M E R G E N C E Oracle Deck, available for distribution this holiday season. (emergenceoracle.com should be up by the time we edit and confirm this article.) Comprised of Mandalas, Mythological archetypes, and repeating Motifs of the Natural world, each of the 63 images intuitively emerged over my last 12 years of transformation and healing (launching my online business, leaving my marriage, leaving my full-time job, becoming a yoga teacher, and healing a deep-rooted relationship with shame, self-hatred, overworking, and creative stagnation.) Read more>>

Britan Gwyn

The most meaningful project I worked on was an album called “Uptown State of mind” with my cousin “Glory Lives” before he changed his name from “Kid Glory”. I remember moving back to New York City after high school to study audio production at HOSTOS community college. During my time there, I found out Glory was pursuing a career in music and was looking to build with producers and artists. I was very much a beginner and had never worked with anyone professionally. It was my first shot and I wanted to give me all. We would regular link up at my house or his house to work on beats and write songs together. Read more>>

Patrick Cortes

My work on the Undisclosed podcast is unquestionably the most meaningful thing I’ve been a part of. As some reading this may be aware, Undisclosed was a podcast that began as a follow-up to the first season of Serial, which was about the murder of Hae Min Lee for which Adnan Syed was convicted as a teenager. While Serial brought the case to widespread attention and fascination, it didn’t tell the whole story, and it was Undisclosed – a podcast hosted by Rabia Chaudry, who was responsible for bringing the case to Serial’s Sarah Koenig in the first place – that filled in the critical gaps pointing to Adnan’s innocence. Read more>>

Arleen Held

In the late 90’s, early 2000’s I was given the opportunity to create a piece of artwork for the NYU Pediatric Dental Clinic. Alongside my donated artwork – I was instrumental in securing works from other artists and peers for their works to be on display in the clinic. It was truly a pivotal moment of my artistic path and has paved the way for both my growth as an individual and an artist. Read more>>

Chantrell Lewis

One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on as an author would be my book, “Black Girl’s Guide to Ladyhood”. This book is so meaningful to me because it is everything I would have wished to have had access to growing up. I share many personal and relatable stories in hopes that the next girl who reads it will have a much smoother route through puberty and discovering who she is and how to best take care of herself on a multitude of levels. Read more>>

Javenna Bellinger

I created a platform for local Authors to receive a payment for their children’s books called for The Of Literacy. The children’ books were donated to the children at the free literacy community event. For me, it’s important for posterity to see local Authors and for the Authors to share their stories. It’s a Win-Win literacy event. Read more>>

Jelani Maliik

As of recently, my latest album “Catch 22” has carried a lot of meaning for me. The creative process served as a form of therapy because it permitted me to be completely free in my emotional expression. Within the time I worked on “Catch 22”, I wrote close to +40 songs within the alternative/indie rock genre. Coming from a background of being primarily a hip-hop artist, the new sonic frequencies pushed my songwriting & vocal ability to a different level. I feel passionately about the full body work; taking a little less than 2 years to fully produce. Read more>>

David Boom

I would have to say the Entrepreneur Spotlight Event. I felt like we needed a space where we can put all of our small businesses owners and entrepreneurs in a room and watch us thrive! To see us all come together with so many different business ventures really showed me how much this was needed. It was a huge turn out of businesses owners of color and the LGBTQ+ Community. Read more>>

Aaliyah Nicole

In my past I struggled with heartbreak. Honestly I still do, in all areas of life not just in my love life. To start off, in 2020 I was going through a lot. As far as not understanding who I was to not loving my girl correct at the time and vise versa. I struggled with expression mentally and physically and the only way I could express what I was feeling was through music. That’s how my last project Love Vs. Lust came about. Just feeling all these things all at once. Wanting to confront things that I couldn’t admit out loud. I just spent months in the studio working and creating something that I felt was relatable and will stick forever. Read more>>

Danni Lee

The most meaningful project that I have worked on would have to be my very own project, “Girl Wake Up”. This project is meaningful to me because it was my first time officially sharing another aspect of me (as a creative) with the world. I’ve always been known as a writer, an actress, a spoken word artist, and hey…I even sing from time to time, but to actually put together a plot, characters, a running theme, a conflict, resolution, and host rehearsals, and hire a cinematographer…the list goes on, but I did that. I accomplished that. Read more>>

tyler miles lockett

Diving deep into illustrating my own book on Greek mythology has been such a fun journey as i get to learn about the myths and tales and history of ancient Greece as i do research to Illustrate them. So for me, picking a project where i can learn about a new topic and grow is the ideal project. Read more>>

Taylor Childs

I am driven by stories and the people around me. I was born and raised in Detroit MI. I went to an art high school where I was surrounded by creators. My aunt would often recite the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” I have been reflecting on my life and I often think of myself as the community’s baby. I have always been inspired by stories. Whether looking at old family photos to investigate time, place, and identity. Narrating my story or the stories from the people who live here, I find power in sharing stories from real people. Read more>>

Renata Flot-Patterson

The most meaningful project that I have ever worked on is the Motown Production. The Motown Production was established in 2013 and was a project with meaning and passion behind it. We wanted to create a production that payed tribute to the original Motown artists and founder, Berry Gordy. That being said, we wanted to utilize youthful, ambitious, talented and creative artists for this project. It was imperative that they looked the part giving the production more of a genuine and authentic look and feel. Read more>>

Marcy Stagner

My art career began at a very young age and has evolved greatly over time. Currently, my work is painting-centered with mixed-media materials including acrylic, gouache, gold leaf, and resin. In addition to my painting endeavors, I’ve been fortunate enough working as a Director in the non-profit world to bring my creativity and vision there as well. One project I worked on a few years ago that was particularly meaningful was a huge chuppah, which is a canopy used in a Jewish wedding to symbolize the joining of families together. Read more>>

Wilson Getchell

The entire process of writing, developing, performing, and recording my band Thirsty Curses’ last album, TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (released March 2022), was an incredibly meaningful project for me. I’ve said for many years that making music is the organizing principle of my life, but developing this most recent album seemed to have an added significance for me. I think part of it was just the challenges brought on over the last few years with COVID and all the related fall out from that. Read more>>