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?

Luisa Lyons

While I was completing my Masters degree at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, I saw a cinema screening of the 2011 New York Philharmonic production of Company starring Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone et al. In a pre-taped interview, producer Ellen M. Krass shared that she’d had trouble obtaining funding for the filming as no one had heard of filming a live stage musical. Having grown up obsessively watching the original Broadway production of Into the Woods on VHS, I was baffled. I went to school the next day and changed my thesis topic to the history of filmed live musicals. Read more>>

Kimberly Cannon

I have been focusing more of my time on education, Through teaching I am able to share my knowledge and inspire many hairdressers who may have not had access to the type of education I received. Cosmetology school is extremely dated, there is a huge need to modernize the material covered. Most stylists will graduate with only a fraction of what they need. Larger cities like LA and New York have amazing apprenticship programs but that is only accessible for those who can afford to live there. By teaching classes in my salon in Pennsylvania as well as through social media I feel that I am able to share my knowledge from working in large salons in NY with colorists who wouldn’t easily have access to it. Read more>>

Dimitra Korri

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on was sharing my figure skating with the 2023 Burning Man Project. It was truly an honor and particularly meaningful for me to be able to share my artistry on ice at Burning Man 2023 because I dedicated my figure skating show to suicide awareness. Suicide is an ongoing issue that is plaguing youth more today than ever before because of how connected yet disconnected our society has become through technology and social media. Sharing my art with the burning man community reminded me of how important connection and expression are to help motivate and inspire each other to keep moving forward in life and to find common ground with those around us in order to feel included and be heard. Read more>>

Will Knight

Painting saved me in the Summer of 2015. I’d gone days without sleep trying to finish all my final projects for the Spring semester at school, while simultaneously failing to salvage a dying relationship. It took everything I had to keep it together until Summer break. I was exhausted, and my best friend of many years had exited my life. I was twenty, and didn’t have the skills or tools to untangle myself from the emotional pretzel I’d been twisted into. At first I spent most of my time in bed, face down, quietly despairing. Everything felt unbearable. Read more>>

Rae Serbeck

I’ve been in the entertainment industry for the past 7 years as a model, film and voice actor, and writer. To this day my most meaningful experience was back in 2020-2021. In early 2020 I was approached by the CEO of Elixir by Royel Magazine, an international humanitarian magazine with writers from all over the world writing pieces to better the younger generations. At that point in my acting career I was in several films and cartoons and was just hitting my stride, when I was asked if I’d like to submit a single piece on my thoughts on drug abuse, which at that point I had been fully sober from hard drugs or almost 4 years, so it was a subject I had a lot of thoughts on. I looked at examples from past issues and I noticed a lot of writers almost seemed to want to tell people what to do, I took a different approach and just talked about my own experience, being raw and honest. Read more>>

Claudia ALick

I find all my projects deeply meaningful. WeChargeGenocide.TV is an interactive database, community record, and organizational tool for us to share work, lead discussions, inspire actions, host collaboration, and accurately reflect the current and historical conditions of QTBIPOC and Disabled under Genocide. We have produced live streamed performances, hackathons, playlists, and continued to update this site. WCGTV using the arts as a tool to make the case for the crimes of The US against QBIPOC and Disabled, actively confronting the direct and indirect effects of genocide in our communities, providing a platform with an invitation for healing and action. Read more>>

Michael Camarda

I’ve worked on many meaningful projects, but the most meaningful has to be the Mac Miller artwork I made for Spotify. I was contacted by the agency working directly for Spotify while I was traveling and saw that they were interested in collaborating. Eventually, they shared the details for the project which was set to launch on Mac’s birthday. He’s my favorite artist of all time so I knew this would be a great fit. Read more>>

Will Carpenter

As a creative, I think the goal tends to be that all our projects are meaningful, but with that said, there are some that are extra special. I’m fortunate to be working on several such projects at the moment with other artists, but for now, I’ll share a story from my own artist project Ships Have Sailed about a song we released earlier this year called “Silence”. Read more>>

Sarah Linyao Feng

On my journey through the realm of screen scoring, I’ve had the opportunity to compose for a diverse array of projects spanning from TV and film to animation and video games. Among them, one holds a particularly special place in my heart – a short animation titled ‘Little Rabbit,’ for which I had the privilege of serving as the original composer. Written, animated, and directed by Johanna Xue, the story centers around the story of a 6-year-old girl named ‘Lili’ who embarks on her kindergarten journey. There, she encounters a strict teacher who employs a bamboo stick for discipline. Hailing from Hungary, Lili grapples with the challenges of acclimating to a foreign environment, forging new friendships, and mastering a new language in a Chinese kindergarten, and this experience leaves an indelible mark in her childhood. Read more>>

Kristin Rossi

I would have to say one of my most meaningful projects was creating over 100 sets of nails for the first annual fashion show, Color of Fashion. Now why this show out of the dozens of shows I’ve done locally, nationally and internationally? What makes this one special? In one word, diversity. Color of Fashion is a show that celebrates diversity in the beauty industry. Their top priority is highlighting designers, models and a production team of all colors. Read more>>

David Redman

Personally as a director trying to make a career from it, I can generally categorize projects 1 of 2 ways. 1. I love the creativity of this project and would do it for free if I had to. 2. Doing this for the paycheque. When the two collide it’s wonderful, but sometimes that can be few and far between. Obviously the meaningful projects are those creatively liberating ones that keep you wanting to pursue this crazy craft. Read more>>

Morteza Rafiei

In the tumultuous period following George Floyd’s death, I, Morteza Rafiei, found a profound purpose in my work at MSR Entertainment. The serendipitous encounter with Sidney Brown was a beacon, and our combined perspectives from diverse backgrounds sparked a unique mission. Coming from Iran, I was largely shielded from the deeply entrenched racial issues in the US. This unfamiliarity drove Sidney and me to capture the raw essence of the nationwide protests, hoping to dissect and understand the dynamics at play. Read more>>