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?

Cerise Lim Jacobs

The most meaningful projects I’ve worked on relate to my heritage as an immigrant and a Chinese woman. White Snake Projects would not exist if it were not for the fact that I live at the intersection of these three modalities. My first opera, Madame White Snake, which is based on the most beloved myth in East Asia – the Legend of the White Snake – won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize (Zhou Long, composer.) I’ve gone on to create I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, a response to Trump’s revocation of DACA, exploring the immigrant experience. This piece has toured to Pittsburgh and as of the time of writing, it will premiere at Tri-Cities Opera and Syracuse Opera. This season, we premiered Monkey, A Kung Fu Puppet Parable, based on the 16th century Chinese quest saga, “Journey to the West.” Read more>>

Clar Angkasa

I’ve been working on a passion project for the past 5 years. Stories of the Islands is a middle grade graphic novel collection of reimagined Indonesian folktales with a feminist twist, and it is finally being published on October 31st, available to preorder anywhere books are sold in the U.S. I started this book as an independent study project when I was still a student at Rhode Island School of Design. I tend to want to do so many things at once so I used this project as an opportunity to combine my multiple interests: comics, folktales, Indonesian culture, and female empowerment. I wanted to rewrite the stories I grew up with in a way that I wish they’d been told to me when I was young. I wanted to use my art to challenge the concept that a woman is limited to what society expects of them, a narrative that is present in a lot of fairy tales. Read more>>

Patrick Adams

In each of my creative ventures, there is always a meaningful purpose behind the projects that ties back to something valuable and important to me. I’ll provide a separate answer for each: Books, Music and the Podcast. Children’s Books – The stars of my books series are my 5 children. They are my ultimate inspiration and I want them to be forever immortalized in books that may entertain children from around the world. The Amazing Lisa book series stars my 3 older children (Holly, Daniel and Jonathan) as they travel the world with a magical stuffed animal. The Rhythm’s World book series is for beginning readers and stars my two younger children (Rhythm and Lyric). Read more>>

Carl Hopgood

My exhibition at UTA Artist Space last summer was an incredible opportunity to showcase my art. I showed my Neon Assemblages and Film installations. Arthur Lewis who is the head of UTA Art introduced me to the renowned collector Beth De Woody. After seeing my work she acquired my neon chair assemblage ‘Just Say Gay’. The work was incredibly important to me as it was a protest piece that I made in response to the anti LGBTQ laws that were being passed in Florida. When I discovered that the work was going to be exhibited in West Palm Beach the following year at The Bunker Art Space (www.thebunkerartspace.com) I was so excited and it was an incredible feeling as I knew it was the right time and place to make a meaningful difference. Read more>>

Tianna Mae Andresen

This is hard, I feel like all the projects I do are meaningful in their own ways, especially when they are commissions for people or collections reflecting where I am in life. The project I did with Hi Ho Kids, where we made a video of me teaching kids about sustainable fashion and had them upcycle their own pieces, was extra meaningful because it married a lot of my principles, interests, and was just super fun overall. Read more>>

Kimberly Stein

I have always been a strong believer in the power of public arts. Seeing murals on otherwise empty walls, painted man-hole covers or storm drains, sculptures large and small, along with temporary installations all stand as a reminder that we are here together in the same community. It was in this spirit that I signed on along with 40 other artists to paint a handmade bench that would sit outside businesses in our community throughout the spring and summer. The 40 benches are going to be auctioned at a live event November 11 to raise money for the Vienna Arts Society. Read more>>

Shaun Rylee

When I set out to write and create, the very first thing I draw upon is my own experiences. For me, it’s about finding those links to meaningful stories that others can relate to. Searching for the reasons behind our motivations and how we progress as human beings in our relationships with other people. I want to take those stories and infuse them with beautiful imagery onscreen. Even if a story comes from a bleak moment in time, there is beauty to be found in how we persevere amidst our struggles. I want to let people know that we are relatable in the human experience. Read more>>

Anna Orbison

The idea to form The Sound of Ghosts came from James (Orbison) losing his good friend Dave Lamb who had the band Brown Bird with his amazing wife MorganEve Swain. Dave passed away from leukemia in 2014, leaving behind his incredible body of work. James and Dave had played in some of their first bands together in high school and the loss inspired James to find his way back to playing music. We named the band The Sound of Ghosts because that was the name of Brown Bird’s first EP, so now we always have this connection to Dave and Brown Bird that regularly reminds us why we began the project. Read more>>

Matthew McLaughlin

I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked on various extraordinary projects but by far the most meaningful I have ever worked on would have to be The Cold Red Podcast. Hosted by two of the most well-respected FBI Profilers (Ray & Fitz), Cold Red highlights the victimology aspect of building a criminal profile with expert guests in psychology and law enforcement weighing in on different high profile cases. This project is meaningful to me because before deciding to produce a true crime podcast, I did not realize that the content was going to be so impactful to our audience. Read more>>

Iting Chen

I want to share with you my virtual McDonald’s OTP conference project that I worked on in 2021 and 2022. I was grateful to serve as the main UI/UX Designer for this project, which marked one of the larger endeavors I undertook after transitioning from a visual graphic designer to a UX designer. In 2021, this project involved collaboration with a 3D artist, a producer, an AV live streaming team, engineers, and the McDonald’s team. I designed AR Photobooth and Trivia game features, primarily focusing on key visual design and user experience to maintain an engaging virtual experience. Read more>>

Mandie Kuo

Being able to make a positive impact on the world has always been a driving force in my life. The devastating bushfires in Australia in 2019, which claimed lives, destroyed homes, and wreaked havoc on wildlife, deeply saddened me. The constant news coverage of badly burnt koalas and the challenges faced in wildlife restoration efforts moved me to take action. Initially, I thought of creating a post to raise awareness about the issue, but then a more significant idea struck me—why not take concrete steps to make a difference? Inspired to do more, I organized a fundraising event by crafting and selling self-made koala stickers featuring the heartfelt message: “Thank you for being kind.” These stickers served as a reminder to spread kindness in the face of adversity. Read more>>

HunOuk Park

Recently, I co-composed music with my dear friend and accomplished composer Joe Davies for the feature documentary ‘Troubled Water,’ directed by Davis Huber. Troubled Water Film explores the economic, political and environmental implications of human impact on Michigan’s fresh water . An epic 425-mile, 40 day standup paddle journey from Mackinac Island to Lansing is the narrative backbone of our story. The route is designed to show the beauty of the Great Lakes, highlight current environmental issues, and finish in the Great Lakes State capitol: the political epicenter with the power to protect our public waters. The Great Lakes have already seen irreparable damage, but some issues still hang in the balance and hope is still very much alive. Read more>>

Deborah Liss

This is a difficult question because all the projects I worked on are special, but I would say that the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is “Catharsis,” a psychological drama feature film where I played the lead role and also wrote and produced. This project holds deep personal meaning in my life for two reasons: it was the first one that I produced, and it came during a crucial time in my life, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. After moving from Brazil to Hollywood to pursue my dreams in acting and writing, I tragically lost my mother. Her support had always been my driving force, and her passing left me in deep grief and confusion. “Catharsis” helped me cope with this loss and find my way back to storytelling. Read more>>

Mark Elias

I think the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the film “Boy Makes Girl” (releasing October 24th on iTunes). It’s the first feature that I was both behind and in front of the camera on something that I had written, and playing a character with a clearly visual arc. So it was meaningful from the aspect of stepping up to a greater challenge, as well as the subject matter of alienation and being on the Autism spectrum. I also feel that the role of artificial intelligence in our lives is not black and white and I think that this film speaks to that, so I’m interested to see how it is received to a wide audience. Read more>>

Chad Newsome

That would be our short film “Keepsake”,..which doubles as a Pilot for a larger project. ‘Keepsake’ is a supernatural drama; it is our sixth short film and it is the longest and most ‘intense’. Until now, we were able to handle things; this project tested and challenged us as Producers. For me personally and professionally, it gave me the opportunity to show my full capabilities as a Filmmaker – with which I chose to heavily integrate music into the project. This resulted in a soul-stirring theme song and a emotionally dynamic single. Read more>>

Cyrina Fiallo

I would say the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is a short film called “Someone to Carry You.” It’s a film that I wrote, directed and starred in and it was inspired by my very first best friend, Laura. The idea for it came one night when my boyfriend and I were settling in to watch a movie and Laura, who I hadn’t heard from in a while, sent me a video from a hobby horsing championship. It was so perfect and funny and specific and SO something we would have enjoyed doing at that age (or even now). I couldn’t stop laughing. Instead of watching a movie, I started to reminisce about all the weird things we used to do, all the random clubs we’d come up with, all the nights we’d stay up, dancing around the room to Alanis Morissette… I just kept thinking: this is all so special. Read more>>

Traci Adams

Throughout my 27 years in business as a muralist and illustrator, I have had the honor to work on several meaningful projects that have both made a positive impact in the community and have been profound reminders of why I create art in the first place. Creating mural artwork for elementary and middle schools is one of my favorite aspects of my career as a professional artist. When I am at a school with the students, staff and families coming and going around me as I create, I get to hear their reactions, their comments and their perceptions of my artwork in real time as I am creating it. Witnessing these levels of engagement and gratitude for my artwork allows me to see first-hand the impact my art will continue to have after the project is complete and I am no longer on campus each day. Read more>>

Martha May

It’s a song that I’m releasing on the 13th of October 23′. The song is called Birthday Wish, and it talks about the struggles of accepting your body. I’ve been struggling with my body image since I was a child, due to bullying in school and just beauty standards in general. I wrote a song about it because I didn’t want this ‘skinny obsession’ of mine to continue anymore, but also because I want to tell others who are also going through this, especially young adults, that they are not alone. By starting this conversation I believe we can change perspective, and be more mindful when it comes to commenting on other people’s physical appearance. Read more>>

Corey Hayes

When I first moved to New York City in 2000, my goal was to make a name for myself. I moved from Austin and my initial plan was to be in NYC long enough to get some solid experience that would allow me to return to Texas and take on high paying jobs in my home state. I was one of the few people at the time that knew the concepts around digital photography at a moment in NYC where digital was just taking off. I became a digital tech and ended up traveling around the world for a few years assisting other photographers until I reached a point where I felt it was time for me to go out on my own. Ironically one of the first jobs that put me on the path of celebrity/editorial photography came from The Austin Chronicle. Read more>>

Emily Hicks

I am currently working on my most meaningful project yet – my debut, studio album. The songs I have collected for this album are some of my favorite I’ve written over the past decade. They tell the story of a twenty something woman finding her way in the world, leaving the midwest for the mountains, saying goodbye to the past, and stumbling into a love that lasts. This album has been a long time coming for my loyal listeners, and I can’t wait to finally share these songs them and anyone else who can relate. It is scheduled for release in the fall of 2024. Read more>>