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?

Barbara Rachko

I recently completed a short film about my life and work called, “Barbara Rachko: True Grit.” This is something I have been wanting to do for more than ten years after a friend first suggested it. My route to becoming an artist has been circuitous to say the least. In my 20s I learned to fly and became a licensed Boeing-727 Flight Engineer. Then I joined the Navy expecting to fly, but I never was allowed to. Deeply unhappy with my Navy career, I looked around for something meaningful to do with my life and rediscovered art. Read more>>

Shwan Askari

The project I am currently working on is the most meaningful one so far. Unfortunately, I can’t reveal too many details just yet, but it will be released next year in 2024 (hint: it involves big monsters ). This project is special for me because I have felt so much freedom throughout the entire creative process, right from the beginning. Additionally, I have been entrusted to handle a big portion of the film, allowing me to delve deep into developing ideas. What makes this experience even more enjoyable is the fact that I get to collaborate with very close friends, making the entire journey pleasant, even with the very high demands of the director and producers. Read more>>

Sista Luna

My rhythm of artistic practice underwent a foundational shift when my father died in the summer of 2021. That type of grief has a way of creating immense space, and in that pause, allows for sharp clarity in perspective of our priorities. The first art I made after his death was part of the month-long, daily prompted drawing challenge, Inktober, during the month of October in 2021. The little bit of outside structure that Inktober provided was just what I needed to ease back into creating. This disciplined drawing practice catalyzed a return to my roots, grounding in, and solely focusing on ink drawings for the following 18 months. Read more>>

Olivia Diercks and Karla Colahan

We opened for Swedish quintet, Jaerv, in 2017 at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. We knew very little about their music, but were excited to play at the Cedar again. After hearing their set, we were floored not just at their musicianship, kindness, and the joy they exuded on stage, but at Swedish folk music. It wasn’t until years later that we realized our Western Classical training had prepared us well for Swedish folk music, much of which is derived from Baroque music. Read more>>

yaya jackson

I think the most meaningful work I’ve been a part of this year has been teaching sewing classes at the Compton Girls Club. I majored in Liberal Studies while in college, which is the typical undergrad for elementary school teachers. I really saw myself working with kids for the longest time. After working at a school prior and through the pandemic, I realized traditional educational institutions weren’t necessarily my vibe. I started teaching mobile, pop up-esque classes earlier this year and my homie Jas had the idea of me doing a workshop for the Girl’s Club. I really love the work they do. They’re a non-profit and offer community classes and workshops for girls in Compton, free of cost. I remember my parents had to hustle real hard for my siblings and I to take extracurricular classes. Read more>>

Conner Cherland

Cherland’s newest project is equal parts rapturous and refined, its main objective being to plumb the depths of human feeling while showcasing how he’s honed his craft. “I want music to be more of an unconscious act. I don’t just want to be a clever writer — I want these songs to cost me something,” he admits. And certainly, this album is proof of the lengths Cherland has traveled for his music career. After quitting his tech job to go all-in, he released his first independent, self-funded EP and moved to Los Angeles in 2022. When contemplating what would come next, he kept returning to one of his biggest sources of inspiration: the score of the cartoon series Over the Garden Wall. He casually shot a message to the show’s team, not expecting an answer. Since then, they’ve offered him their mentorship by teaching him music theory and song composition, and their band, The Blasting Company, will be featured on LAKE. Read more>>

Lindsey L. Miller

As a choreographer, dance and movement is my medium of expression. I love being able to express through the physical body, because so much of life has emotions and stories that transcend spoken word or written dialogue. Dance is a universal language that can be understood across all cultures. I also love being an artist so that I can give a voice to important topics that audiences can experience in a visceral way. Environmental conservation concerns in the world is one of the themes that is the most meaningful for me to create choreographic works about. My most successful work in this category is “Plastic Ocean” that tackles the topic of the plastic epidemic in our oceans. The work began as a site-specific commission for the Westbeth gallery in NYC. Read more>>

Crystal J. Huang

I am the producer and director for the movie Dark Feathers. The film is a suspenseful thriller set in dance, partly based on my dancing experiences. In the film, the female photographer Kate’s ballroom dancing partners were all killed. Detective Remy becomes her new partner and tries to find the cause of her partner’s death. But the film reveals a different answer at the end. This film tries to show that the so-called “truth” often cannot be deciphered by reasoning, even when all the evidence is in hand. Read more>>

Nikki Stringfield

Most people know me simply as a guitarist. I’ve played in many incredible bands as both rhythm and lead, but I’ve never been able to contribute as an artist to these bands. I’ve been playing with The Iron Maidens (female tribute to Iron Maiden) and other originals for a while now, but I haven’t been able to really share myself musically with the world. I finally decided to find my voice (literally, as a vocalist as well) and I’ve been dedicating myself to releasing my first full length album, “Apocrypha,” this September. I wrote, recorded, and produced all songs with my husband and I finally have an album that I’m very proud of. I have an album release show as well and it will be my first time ever being a front woman, commanding the stage with a guitar and my voice. This is something I’ve always dreamed of and I’m so thrilled to finally be sharing my music with the world. Anything is possible if you work hard enough and believe in yourself. Read more>>

HYBYCOZO LIGHT AND SCULPTURE

For HYBYCOZO, the importance of math and art education lies at the very core of their artistic vision and mission. They believe that the fusion of mathematics and art not only creates visually captivating installations but also serves as a powerful tool to inspire curiosity and learning. By incorporating mathematical principles into their creations, HYBYCOZO aims to break down the barriers between these seemingly distinct disciplines and showcase their inherent interconnectedness. This approach not only enhances the aesthetic value of their work but also fosters a deeper appreciation for both mathematics and art among their audiences. Read more>>

Kari Dale

I have always been interested in animals. I grew up on a ranch in Montana so animals are a way of life for my family. When I joined the Army I didn’t have that connection anymore so, once I was settled at my first duty station, I started looking for ways to bring animals back into my life. During my research I discovered a canine rescue that was looking for foster homes for the dogs that they were saving from shelters with high euthanasia rates. I applied to foster and began my journey volunteering for the organization. Several years later, the rescue decided to look into producing calendars as a fundraiser. I had just started my photography journey not long before and offered to head the calendar project. We successfully produced two calendars featuring rescue dogs and all the proceeds went to the rescue to save so many more canine lives. Read more>>

Simone Grooms

In the past year I’ve found myself diving again into a set of more meaning projects for my production company. My main objective for my recent project was to finish the promotional scene from my upcoming movie “Serenity”. I wrote serenity about five years ago. when I was a sophomore in college attending the University of North Carolina School of the arts. My team main focus was to shoot the scene streetlight and we did so. After revising the script with my Executive producer and writer partner It was very interesting because it took about about another sixth months to get the final production team together. My idea was to create more ART and not to just follow the basic Algorithm we see on our social media platforms. As its been only a year and half for me in Los Angeles it was definitely a challenge. Read more>>

Abby Kasonik

In all my time as a painter, I never did a single collaboration… I always thought I was unsuited to that type of project. Last year a very organic opportunity for a collaboration with an artist friend came up. We were both working outside our primary mediums and looking for a way to solve a problem. The solution was working together, and it turned out to be one of the most fun and enlightening projects I’ve ever worked on. It was so interesting to get to see the inner workings of another artist’s mind. It’s alway fascinating to see the studios and tools other people use and how that can open you up to new ways of making, but in this case it was also her way of seeing…seeing her craft, her job, how she invested in herself and the risks she was willing to take. It was a very inspiring experience.. Read more>>

Alisa McRonald

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on would be the body of work I’m currently working on as a Creative in Residence for Ontario Culture Days. The pandemic challenged the way that I work, access to space and supplies and other people was difficult and also opened up a whole new way of making. I dug into supplies I had at home, I started reading lots of books that were on hand (mostly books on folklore), I had time to explore my identity as an artist and person. All of this lead me to start working in different mediums and be creative in ways I hadn’t been before. Read more>>

Heavenly Waters

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on would have to be my first EP, “Variety”. This EP means so much to me because it allowed me to share the variety of emotions that one experiences during different journeys in life. I love that I was able to create and share songs that showed how one feels when they are mentally drained, and on the verge of giving up, but remembering that there is hope. Being able to write and sing about experiences that I haven’t personally experienced, but I know that so many others have, feels amazing. Doing so feels so great because it allows others to not only relate but find relief as well. I love all the songs on Variety, but one of my favorites would have to be “Light”. Read more>>

Bryce Muse

It has been a long time coming, and will require even more time still, but I have enjoyed creating my very first book! About a year and a half ago I had a random feeling that I NEEDED to write a book. At first, I’d be writing in a journal of mine of ideas for the overall story, character names, specific plot points, until I had about half the journal full of semi-useful information. I knew I wanted a fantasy-mystery type book that acts as a lens on modern issues surrounding the environment and claims made on both sides. The general idea? Three college-age students discover their innate abilities to transform any object into another. Paper can become diamonds, rock can be water, and everything can be anything, with the exception of plastic. Read more>>

Carla Peterson

One of the most meaningful projects I co created was Amor en Paginas, translates to Love on pages. This is a passion project with my best friend and co founder where we have an online book club for Latinx romance books. Johanna and I bonded over our love of seeing all sorts of Latinidad in romance stories that we created a “buddy read” Instagram page. We pick one book per month and interview the author on Instagram live at the end of the month to discuss the book and writing process. Reading Latinx romance is important to us because we are more than our trauma stories. We have deep and meaningful stories to say that end with a couple living their happily ever after. Read more>>

Nancy Rumagit

A Love Letter to My Beloved, in 6 Seconds started from a poem I wrote in 2021 when I was in the Netherlands. It came from a very personal space of being lost and not knowing how to go about moving forward, and a few months later I just sort of had an idea about the characters of Life, Time, Death and Love having dinner and how chaotic it would be; but all of that stemmed from that one poem. I was hesitant to pitch the play and put it up for a lot of reasons. This was my first play that I would put up and my first time directing, as well. And though I had been fortunate enough to have been able to learn from and watch the mechanisms of directing from some very talented directors I’ve worked with, I was still doubting that I’d be able to translate that knowledge to my approach with my actors. Read more>>

Shaily Sanghvi

As a producer Director I did a couple of projects who’s stories had an impact on people. One such project was ‘Pirouette’. It talks about the circle of life and how you get what you desire in the most unexpected ways. It talks about how often, what we choose as our passion does not choose us back. Another project, that is yet to come out is called Jasmine Flowers, it is a blend of the Indian Culture here in LA. The story talks about a common superstition still followed in a few parts of India. The story is about an old India woman living in LA, hoping to get an invite to her neighborhood wedding in-spite of her inauspicious status as a widow. The story is a fresh take on a ritual that has been in play for many years. Just while filming it became overwhelming how it resonated with so many people and had an impact on them. Read more>>

Matthew Nguyen

To say that I approach all my work with meaning sounds trite, but I typically need to have some sort of inspiration, story, context, or connection in order to start a new project – it keeps me honest and ready. This is the case before I start any project. I gather my facts and meditate to search for inspiration and begin visualizing, oftentimes weeks before I begin. Sometimes it’s an instant download, other times I struggle, but inevitably the work reveals itself to me. Incorporating meaning is particularly important when working on a commission, which for me is a personal and trusting process. While I can pull inspiration from almost anywhere, understanding the space it will live in and getting a chance to speak with the people who will live with the artwork are important elements to the process. Read more>>

Kathy Flann

I’d been composing “serious” literary work for years, which I loved, but there was an unexpressed side of me lurking, waiting for the full moon. It finally burst free one night when I was sitting at my desk trying to write an essay on a deadline but couldn’t concentrate because my husband’s zombie show in the next room was SO LOUD. The zombies screamed and screamed. I kept thinking, Wow, someone should really help them. They’re really bad at this. The next thing I knew – instead of the essay I was supposed to write – I was composing advice for the zombies. The piece came together much faster than most things I write, and it was fun. It brought back the feeling I’d had about writing back when I was a kid, the pure joy. Read more>>

Dylan Peet

My most recent project “Forever Blu’z” stands out as most meaningful to me. This EP is a jazz-inspired collection of songs that take place in an open-mic setting. Aside from the Gospel genre, jazz was my earliest introduction to music, and its influence can be seen throughout my career as an artist. I expressed my creativity the most with this project, introducing fictional characters “V” & “Quest,” as well as using different audio effects that simulated a real time experience for listeners. Each song received its own music video, which was the first time I’d done that for an entire EP. Taking it a step further, all of the instrumentation was manually recorded with real instruments to add to the live feeling of the project. I’ve always prided myself in making music that reflected my reality, and I feel that “Forever Blu’z” has a healthy balance of skill, innovation & sincerity. Read more>>

Daniel Easley

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve done was a custom sign for a good artist friend who owns Mazed, where they make custom hand drawn mazes and other wonderful artwork. It’s one of the more meaningful projects because it involved art, collaboration, design and customization. It was particularly fulfilling because 1) it was for an artist, which meant it was going to be interesting, and 2) because we got to design it in such a way that reflected the artists work. My wife Kelsey (who helps me design much of the things I make) and I met with the artist and spent time going through their work and just talking about it, to gain a thorough understanding of how we could best represent that in something as simple as a sign. And we also discussed, from our perspective, how we might be able to blend our own style into it. The collaboration and intentional, thoughtful design process yielded a really satisfying result that we were all very proud of. Read more>>

Hilarie Grace

“And you’ve gotta really smack ’em, so they can’t think about anything else.” ~Loretta, Green Glass Blues. I have had the privilege to play some incredible characters over my career. Characters who have struck a chord, stretched me as an artist, and provoked raw emotions-but none as much as Loretta. Playing Loretta was the epitome of stripping every bit of myself away, so that I could build up the most incredible character I’ve had the honor to portray. Green Glass Blues is the most meaningful project I have worked on because of the artistry that went into making it. Every single person on set brought an unprecedented level of professionalism and creativity to the project which allowed a safe space to play. Read more>>

Jah Harrison

I created Thrift Culture HTX, a community organization that hosts events. Creating Thrift Culture Htx has been the one of the most meaningful projects Ive worked on. I had previously been hosting events for the community while pursuing a full-time career as a Fashion Designer. For some time I had been longing for a space that I could really make and impact in my community and in Fashion. So creating Thrift Culture HTX really served as a bridge between the two. Our clothing swap events and meet-ups are goal oriented and designed to educate, support, retool closets as we reduce, reuse and recycle. Collaboration is important to our vision. Read more>>

Favour Abel

I am currently working on releasing the final chapter of my trilogy EP sequel, Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is about a young adult who threads the path to self-fulfillment by chasing his dreams and turning them into reality. He is seen as an alien among his peers and he comes to the knowledge of him being the master of his own universe and can indeed “manifest” his destiny. It is our God-given right to seek self-fulfillment in achieving goals. That is the message that I am portraying in my self-titled sequel EP “Manifest Destiny”. The final chapter, Manifest Destiny VOL III: SUPERNOVA (Release date 07/07/2023), discusses how easy in this day and age for an upcoming artist to be burned out and used by the music industry. Read more>>

Derrick Werlé

I am an orchestrator for film and TV. Recently, I have been working on projects for opera and classical concert music. An orchestrator’s job is to transform a composer’s music, which can be written on a keyboard into orchestral music. For example, when a composer has a melody in mind but lacks instrumentation or harmony skills, the orchestrator steps in and turns the simple idea into an orchestral piece using various instruments. One meaningful project I have encountered as an orchestrator was working on the movie ‘Dunkirk’ directed by Chris Nolan. Read more>>

Christie Kaye

“There is honor in all work, in all tasks, but take it one step further. Make what you do a labor of love. Then your work will truly touch and change the world in the way you desire. The work you do, whatever your chosen field, will be work that heals.” – Melody Beattie. When I entered the industry of media production, I had previously only experienced the fruit of my passion by providing graphic design services to my parents who respectively owned and operated their own small businesses. Read more>>

Marc Jones

I grew up in a Car family! My brothers and I would regularly help with repairs and maintenance on the family car with my father. We would also watch hours of auto racing on the TV as a family! This is when I started drawing cars when I was about 12 years old. Drawing became the center of my life! In school, I was the one in class, not taking notes but drawing. Somehow, I managed to graduate High School and later received a scholarship to Syracuse University which got me totally immersed in painting. I was hooked! I was painting everything I could. I became a proficient painter of landscapes, animals and yes, cars! Read more>>

Linda Kao

On my way to pick up my children one day, I drove past a person walking along with the most sour expression on their face. It was clear something terrible had happened, and I wondered what could have gone so wrong in their day. My mind ran through the obvious culprits—a fight with a loved one, bad news from the doctor, a broken-down car—and kept on going to the impossible, since I’ve found that if I don’t censor my ideas, I can end up somewhere interesting. This time, I wound up at “perhaps the Devil reached out and toyed with this person’s morning.” That led to the question of how the Devil got into our world, and since I’ve always loved the idea of the supernatural bleeding into reality, I decided that perhaps accidents create cracks in our world that allow Lucifer to slip in. Read more>>

Cameron Venus

Return of the Flytrap, my 7th and highly-anticipated studio album, is set to be released on my birthday, August 31st. This project has been in the works for over five years now, delayed by a two-year period of detention in federal custody. As is the case with all of the discography for the Flytrap series, Return of the Flytrap has an extensive tracklist featuring 23 songs. Consider it as compensation for such a long wait. Read more>>

C.Bennett

I feel incredibly grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had to be a part of meaningful art adventures throughout my life. One experience that truly stands out to me was being invited by “the Agency,” a top-notch real estate firm in downtown Kirkland, to participate in a one-night fundraiser aimed at raising money for low-income housing. It was an honor to be personally invited by Jen Cameron, the owner and operator, and together we were able to raise over $5,000 and touch the hearts of so many people. In today’s world, it’s more important than ever to show others that even the smallest efforts can make a big difference and change someone’s life for the better. Read more>>

Anthony Rankin

Over the last year or so, I’ve had the good fortune to really grow as a producer and songwriter through creating with many new peers, especially on the pop side of things. An ongoing collaboration with producer/writer and fellow synth geek SCi-FY has been rewarding in so many ways, including a great friendship above all. We’ve released one single together called “Close to You” and have more in the pipeline, including a triple collab with topliner/vocal producer/artist Kate Ryder. I’ve gotten to write and work with so many talented people on a multitude of upcoming projects, including forthcoming solo material of my own, with huge contributions from producers and writers like Rich Harris, Graham Mallany, Nik Lizcano, and more. As far as recent releases go, “One in a Million” by Dasie and “Holy Trinity” by Elle Buell hold a special place in my heart. The process of making both of those was so unique and inspiring. Read more>>