Working on something meaningful is a common desire – but how? We started asking folks to share the story of how they ended up working on a project they felt was meaningful because we wanted inspiration but also because we wondered if hearing from people from across a range of industries would help us identify patterns making it more likely for anyone to be able to find and work on projects that they would find meaningful.

Tea Bacon

The most meaning project that I’ve done had to be the time I was given the opportunity to make a concept idea of mine come to life. A very talented photographer, DJ (@djbehindthelenz), helped me with my concept “Choose Your Player.”. The idea of the shoot was 4 people were dressed as characters and they all had their own power and stats. I expressed the idea on my instagram story and he reached out and offered to help! Read More>>

Donna Rioux

My whole process designing custom quilts and repairing vintage family quilts is all meaningful for me. A client will bring me clothes or other items from a loved one who has passed away and I take the time to hear about that person. The client will tell me what colors, hobbies, sports team, pets the owner of the items loved and I incorporate the memories into the quilt by adding fabric making the quilt personal to my client. Read More>>

Mills Kelly

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on thus far is my recent book Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail. The book began as a way to tell the story of the single most significant change to the route of the Appalachian Trail in its 100-year history and I was pretty sure it would be interesting to the large and engaged AT hiking community. I learned what I could in the archives and then got in my car and drove to far Southwestern Virginia to get a sense for the place where my story happened. Read More>>

Sarah Lorraine White

All of my projects and clients are meaningful because no matter what the project may be, I am helping someone reach a goal. Many of my clients come to me about to embark on a new chapter in their lives and are wanting to express this in their style. These are always very special projects for me because I love helping people make their visons and goals come to life. Read More>>

Jaysen Buterin

Like any creative outlet, I feel like each work that you “birth” into this world is your child and picking a favourite can quickly become a difficult and dangerous thing to do. But if I absolutely and unequivocally had to pick the particular cinematic project that I am most proud of at this exact moment, then it would have to be my most recent short film, “The Blue-Eyed Boy and Mister Death.” Read More>>

Zan Lombardo

For 25 years, I had loved teaching art in public schools, calling my job “The Happy Little Planet.” But eventually that dream job made me increasingly unhappy–shorter class periods, more classes with more students, extra duties, shrinking budgets, and the arts not even called essential. I found myself with ten years remaining until retirement and growing frustration. The prospect of bringing that despair home every day and venting to my family for a decade would not constitute artistic behavior to me, so I created a safe, physical space to take those anxieties and transform them. Read More>>

Aldonza

Up until now, the most meaningful and transformative project I’ve been a part of wasn’t a traditional job or project. It was a LIFE project, a once-in-a-lifetime gift from my parents, the opportunity to attend and be part of the fourth generation of students at the CLI Conservatory, led by Teddy Forance. Read More>>

Carson Williams

Profile Convergence is a sculpture installation that I worked on in the spring of 2025, and to me it represents the culmination of my ideas and artistic concepts from the past 2-3 years. In another way, it represents the logical end to the body of work that I established and explored during that period. I had created self portraits using moldmaking techniques and 3D scanning as well as more abstract landscape explorations through print and digital media which also held 3D scanning central to their methodology. Read More>>

Hypnocatist

Externally, the most meaningful project that I’ve worked on has been art for causes and relief funds. During the pandemic, a group of friends and I started taking commissions for donations, specifically for antiracism organizations. We would get on skype calls together to work on the commissions and reflect on thoughts and information related to BLM and racism in general, and things we noticed in our own lives and how we operated that might be contributing to the problem or helping it. It was meaningful to create for a purpose and a way to cope with the helplessness that can come with awareness of larger societal issues. Read More>>

Neon Brown

My wife (Chelsea Chorpenning) and I made a short psychological horror film titled Jellybones. We’re in the midst of finishing it up. We’ve had some issues with surround, which has delayed its release, but it should be done very soon. Read More>>

Duncan Smith

About a year ago, my friends Jace Hardwick and Oliver Smith invited me to co-write and co-direct a fantasy-comedy short film they were developing. I’ve always been a fan of epic, fantasy projects like the Lord of the Rings so it was a no-brainer to hop on board. Fast forward a couple weeks of writing and we headed out to the desert with a crew of 15 people. We spent the next 5 days bringing the film to life in super challenging conditions. Read More>>

Ivelisse Diaz

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is, without a doubt, La Escuelita Bombera de Corazón. It isn’t just an organization to me, it’s a reflection of my life, our roots, and our Puerto Rican community en Chicago. I always say I am a product of what I serve, of the very gardens that have existed before me and those that I’ve created. Read More>>

Paxton Smith

This EP of mine, called But I Love It, is my coming of age. It’s my debut as an artist, and it means a lot to me because it gave me the chance to get out the things I’ve struggled to understand or cope with while growing up. It’s also the culmination of so many years of work—I’ve been making music since I was eight, and this is the first time I’m doing it in the way I always dreamed of as a kid. Read More>>

Saraya Rose

The most meaningful project so far is actually an ongoing project I lovingly call EPIC: A (mostly) One Queen Odyssey, the current high point of which has been my performance of Ruthlessness, the fourth and final song in the Ocean Saga. Read More>>

Junyi Wang

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was creating a poster for the National Environmental Education Foundation’s (NEEF) online Earth Day Gallery. This was originally a class project during my time at School of Visual Arts, but it went far beyond the classroom. My work became part of a national campaign that promoted sustainability and environmental education, with the posters made available as free downloads for teachers, students, and families across the country. Read More>>

Ronan Kelly

This August, my production of Julius Caesar opened at Fount Studios NYC for a limited 2-night run. This project had been my entire life for three months as I directed, solo-produced, and prepared to play the role of Brutus. Caesar marked my directorial debut, as well as my first time ever producing a play (or anything else, for that matter). With an immensely talented cast of actors gracing the stage, an original score by composer Peter Lu, and an atmospheric, seductive quality, this rendition of Caesar was everything I could have hoped for and more. Read More>>

Minju Seo

One of my most meaningful projects explores Korean apartment culture. Using materials like rice paper and mesh, I reinterpreted the repetitive structures I grew up with, highlighting their overlooked cracks and fragility. It was meaningful because it turned something ordinary into a space for memory, reflection, and connection. Read More>>