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.

Franny Titus

One of the most meaningful projects of my life was portraying Miep Gies in The Diary of Anne Frank while also helping bring it to thousands of students. This work was far more than a performance—it was a responsibility. Read more>>

Troy Anthony

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is KnowGalleries, and it was born in the City of Atlanta. Not inside pristine white walls with curated lighting, but in the raw pulse of the city.. brick, concrete, boarded windows, overlooked corners. I was moving through the streets with my camera, studying texture and shadow, and it hit me: the city was already a gallery. Read more>>

Starr Himmel

Right now, I am completing a 2-book series. ‘Look Up and Kiss the Rain’ was compiled following my first breast cancer diagnosis and treatment and was an encouragement to face life’s difficulties and overcome them with God’s help. I wrote my journal with the intent of it becoming a book. It includes the good days, the bad days, and the dumb days. Read more>>

Kai Diaz

One of the most meaningful projects I worked on was a photo shoot for my friend Cole in an old graveyard. On paper, it sounded simple: moody portraits, controlled compositions, and a clear visual plan. In reality, almost nothing went as planned, and that’s exactly why it stayed with me. Read more>>

Aparajit Veer

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my song ‘Dil Ki Jang’ (War Within the Heart), a raw, emotional Hindi track with English subtitles, dedicated to the students who’ve tragically lost their lives at India’s top engineering institutes, like the IITs, amid an ongoing mental health crisis. The backstory hits close to home. Read more>>

Shameka Williams

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is the launch of The Suitor Circle VIP, because it required me to move from being the architect behind other people’s visions to becoming the face of my own calling. For years, my work lived in infrastructure. I built financial systems, developed brand strategy, implemented enterprise software, and helped organizations find clarity and scale. Read more>>

Jacqualine Pruett

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is developing my photography education platform and curriculum. While photography has been part of my life for over a decade, creating an educational program forced me to step beyond simply taking beautiful images and instead teach others how to see, think, and grow creatively. The backstory is deeply personal. Read more>>

Nick Portello

The most meaningful project that I’ve ever worked on was Alexis Michelle’s package for RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars. I was an intern for a local designer named Florence that I had been following for years, and though I was grossly unqualified, I was persistent. Read more>>

Chase Bell

Working with Eddy Kenzo in Uganda in 2025 on “Twist” was one of those rare moments where music feels bigger than all of us. From the first scene on the streets of Kampala, there was an undeniable energy — collaborative, joyful, and fearless. Eddy brings a deep cultural pride and global vision that pushed me creatively in the best way. Read more>>

Billy Winfield

That’s a tough one! If it came down to it I would choose my second to last released project titled “Failed to Load..”. I’d choose this one for multiple reasons, first is because my wife does the computer voice that connects the whole project together. Read more>>

S. Noelle Bellamy

The most meaningful project I have ever worked on was one that had nothing to do with fashion trends and everything to do with healing. As a wardrobe stylist, I love creating looks that make people feel bold, beautiful, and seen. I love taking them out of their comfort zone and helping them build confidence from the inside out. Read more>>

Katie Fee

Anytime that I’m fortunate enough to put out my own original music is considered a meaningful project to me because it’s a cumulation of all of my hard work paying off. Read more>>

Jesus Burgos

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is RitmoDJ, because it grew from a creative idea into a full independent music ecosystem that I continue building every day. What makes it meaningful to me is that it’s not just about releasing songs. It’s a long-term project where I combine music production, visual storytelling, artist development, and digital platform building under one vision. Read more>>

Kennedy Lindberg

The new series I’m starting this year is based off of old photos I discovered wen caretaking for my grandmother Lynn Lindberg in her later stages of dementia. I did this in Alabama first in her house, then she moved in with my family. In the process, I was able to find photos of people in my family going back to the 1800s. Read more>>

Bennett Netschi

One of my most meaningful projects has to be my work on the short film, Movie Magic (2024). This was the first ever traditional short film I ever wrote and directed. The short film is a mockumentary starring a cast of characters trying to complete a short film. It sounds very meta, but it reflects my own experience throughout my childhood and early adult years. Read more>>

Zarah Painter

As a photographer, I am blessed to be a part in many meaningful projects. I celebrate the lives of my clients and document their joys, sorrows, love stories and milestones. One of the most meaningful projects I experienced was the birth of a client’s baby. Child birth is a powerful and humbling experience to bear witness to. Read more>>

Lux Boreal

Lux Boreal was founded in 2002 by Ángel Arámbula and Henry Torres Blanco, with a focus on the performing arts, specifically contemporary dance and dance theater. Read more>>

Naz Karagöz

The most meaningful project I have worked on is ‘mind simulator’, a room scale multimedia installation and performance, depicting the four corners of my mind. Not only was it about revealing this system but also for me the performance was a way of letting go of silence and fully embracing the weird and the suppressed. Read more>>

Kayla Verse

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is Telensia, City of AI, because it is my first. Its development wasn’t linear at all, it began as a dream, quite literally. One night I awakened in an alien body in this massive futuristic metropolis. I was inside a bedroom overlooking endless skyscrapers while listening to the most incredible, advanced music I’d ever heard. Read more>>

 

DazeKid

Man, every project has a meaning to it, but I would have to say DCV3: The Pain Behind the Smile is the most meaningful one that I’ve released. It’s the project I was the most vulnerable on. From the title, to the songs and soundbytes, even the order has meaning. And you can grasp that as you listen. Read more>>

Toad Roupas

Its important to me, as a trans / disabled artist, to make much of my work meaningfully represent folx like me in some way. Most of my clothing designs are human rights or politically motivated, I like to create tough/punk pride gear in the traditional tattoo style. Read more>>

Laurie Vodnoy-Wright

My parents Elsye and Bernard Vodnoy, introduced the wonderful world of the violin to me at the age of four. A little eighth size violin, that I treasured, was given to me with the greatest of happiness. I often think what were my parents creative thoughts and why they shared the love of the arts at my very young age. Read more>>

Francois-Yves Auger

As a home renovation and interior design content creator, the most meaningful projects I have ever worked on have always been my own homes. Each one has marked a different chapter of my life, from a tiny studio in Hong Kong to a compact one‑bedroom in New York City, to a log house in the Catskill Mountains, and now a suburban home in North Dallas. Read more>>

Rae Lashea

Honestly, that’s such a hard question because so many of my projects have meant something different to me at different stages of my life. My very first published book, Black Geisha, will always be special because it was proof that I could do this and that my voice mattered. Read more>>

Kate Wade

One of the most meaningful projects in my artistic journey was a classroom assignment while at SCAD (The Savannah College of Art and Design). The assignment was to create a figure painting, human or non-human, inspired by another artist. I remember sitting with the idea for days, wanting to push myself beyond what felt safe or familiar. Read more>>

Forword

“EarWax (Mo Betta),” releasing on March 20th, stands as one of the most meaningful projects Forword has created to date. It was born from pressure, uncertainty, and a kind of spiritual friction that propelled each musician involved. All four artists contributed to the track in distinctly essential ways. Wavesy provided the piano parts, the custom instrumental sample design, and the electric guitar textures. Read more>>

Mel

The last few projects I have worked on have been pretty dear to my heart. The last 2 years I’ve been working on healing my soul and I used my photography as an outlet to tell a story. I was telling my story to be exact. Read more>>

Niharika Rajput

As a Wildlife artist and an Informal educator I usually take on a very divergent , informal pedagogical approach to spreading awareness about various environmental issues and the impact they have on our wildlife. One of my recent projects focused on raising awareness about Shola birds found in the Shola Skyislands in the western ghats in Southern India. Read more>>

Ken Gregory

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is Huey: The Final Chapter. The journey began unexpectedly. At my previous manager’s request, I took a new set of character headshots and chose to style one look as a member of the Black Panther Party. When the photographer sent the images back, I was struck by how closely I resembled Huey P. Newton. Read more>>

Kristy Hampton

I’ve always had a love for the arts, and when an opportunity sparks that passion, you run with it. What started as capturing some talented dancers on their picture day quickly became something deeper. Hampton Stills stands for more than photos of dancers; it represents honoring the art of movement and the artist behind it. Read more>>

Renita Luehrman

Suzuki Harmony STL is the fruition of a dream that started back in 2003 when I taught an after-school violin class in the Jennings School District. Seeing the joy the violin brought those students and coming to the realization that programs like this were not accessible or available to everyone, I set out on a years long journey to change that narrative. Read more>>

Rob Flores

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on isn’t a single session. It’s the ongoing commitment to elevating women’s wrestling through TeamFlo Photography®. I failed photography in high school. No one expected me to build a creative business. I went on to serve in the military, where I learned discipline, accountability, and how to lead with purpose. Read more>>

James Barnes

The most meaningful project of my career was a publication with Klueless Magazine, a London-based fashion magazine, created during one of the most transformative periods of my journey as a photographer. The editorial shoot took place at the Louvre in Paris — a location I had dreamed of working in long before my career became international. Read more>>

Lacey Finchum

My most meaningful project has been the one I debuted last summer, my pièce de résistance, “7 Days”. It is a series of 7 giant, “ancient” scrolls depicting visions of the apocalypse. Read more>>

Megan Apa

One of our most meaningful events that we’ve worked on over the last five years is our baby: BI BI BABY. This party, which celebrates bisexuality, is very close to our hearts because it was our first real event as a company. Read more>>

Laura Rowley

I just completed my first novel, The Glassmaker’s Secret, which will be published in October 2026. It’s a dual-timeline novel about a New Yorker who travels to Estonia to pursue a family secret from World War II. Her holiday journey is intertwined with her late grandfather’s tragic letters about his childhood during Soviet and Nazi occupations. Read more>>

Shannon Symonds

Hidden Gem Magazine: I became a certified advocate working with survivors of intimate-partner and domestic violence, as well as working with families and children, for the same reason many people enter the helping field. I did because at one point I was desperate for help and couldn’t find what I needed. Read more>>

Katherine White

My ongoing and hopefully never-ending project is hosting interactive improv workshops for Black women, including trans women, who deserve to laugh and create freely. Black women sometimes carry the weight of the world, making it hard to breathe, let alone create freely. Improv counters that with laughter, freedom, and silliness. That kind of play is rarely centered on us, yet it is deeply necessary. Read more>>

Ziesook You

100 Austin Artist’s floral portraits – In my frequent visits to art galleries, I often found myself admiring artworks without knowing the artists behind them. This lack of connection left me longing for a deeper understanding and a sense of community within the art world. Read more>>

Amanda Goggin

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on would have to be when I was chosen by the AllState Foundation Survivor Network from over five hundred applicants to be part of a panel of domestic abuse survivors to raise awareness by telling our stories. Read more>>

Beth & Patty Buttery & Branigan

For me (Beth), the most meaningful project we’ve worked on is our children’s chapter book series, Lainey’s Type 1 Diabetes Adventures. It was one of the very first books we wrote, and it eventually helped us start our own business and publish our work. My daughter, Lainey, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 10 in 2018. Read more>>

Topher Benjamin

I have the absolute joy of producing Dance Fit Flow’s annual Showcase. Clients register to participate in their favorite classes. Instructors experiment with choreography in class, before closed rehearsals. Clients get two rehearsals to learn choreography and formations before tech rehearsals in the Theater. Read more>>

Patience Axmann

In 2025, I wrote a song every day for 6 months. This not only freed me up to be creative and took the pressure off of each song needing to be “the song” but it also opened up opportunities for me to be others-focused in my writing. Read more>>

Lin Jin

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was Tea Leaves Left, which I participated in through Asian In Animation. I worked as a background painter on the project. This project was especially meaningful to me because it centered around Asian culture and focused on sharing our cultural stories. I’ve always been deeply interested in projects that use visual storytelling to communicate culture. Read more>>

Taylor Nixon

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is Feelings Club. It began from a very personal place. I kept noticing how many young people – especially in high-pressure environments – were struggling silently. Schools talk about resilience and performance, but rarely about emotional safety. I wanted to explore what happens when vulnerability is treated like rebellion. Read more>>

Francisco Marquez

Honestly, the most meaningful project I’ve worked on isn’t a film — it’s something I built for myself called Off Script. Two Sins was a turning point. Playing Liam forced me to explore projection — the parts of ourselves we split off to survive. That role didn’t end when the cameras stopped. It stayed with me. Read more>>

Trent Walker

First of all, I love this question. I moved to L.A. in 1991. I had been in New York studying acting at HB Studios with amazing teachers like Uta Hagen and Sandy Dennis. I ended up getting a recurring role on a soap opera and people started telling me I’d probably be successful in film and television and that I should move to Los Angeles. Read more>>

Anthony Sasser

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on thus far is working on an AMEX Platinum commercial (my first major commercial that I’ve ever booked). There wasn’t a guarantee that I would book the job because it was a SAG job and I wasn’t apart of SAG. I still put my all in the audition and even staged a small background so the casting directors could see me in the role. Read more>>