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.

Kelé Pandolfe

Each time I pick up the pen to write or the brush to paint it starts as a blank canvas, and just my thoughts. I write and paint because it calls from me and his part of my self-care/healing. Read more>>

Sara Callaway

One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on, thus far has been the two weeks I spent in South Africa alongside other photographers, wildlife enthusiasts, lead by some of the greatest in the wildlife nonprofit sector. At the end of July I departed from Atlanta on a flight to Johannesburg that would change me. As a back story I have always loved animals and nature, and over the pandemic I picked up a camera left behind by my late mother in search of what I could capture of the natural world. Read more>>

Daniel John

The most meaningful project that I worked on this year has to be ‘Bad Connection’. With today’s world being sprung on technology, I combined retable and relevant topics with video game like imagery and sounds to resonate with the audience. This project mean’t a lot because it was truly how I felt during the time and we created a well – planned roll out. It is one of my most successful projects thus far. Read more>>

AC Trigger

Honestly, all my music has deep meaning behind it. Every punchline, word, all the way down to each syllable is specifically placed where it is for a reason. But the most meaningful would definitely be Running Low. I struggled with a lot of depression and anxiety from middle school all the way up till that song came out. I kept it to myself because I didn’t want to be looked at as THAT kid, but looking back I should have, because man, I was in a real dark place, suicidal, felt alone, all that. Read more>>

Reeco Sheppard Jr.

The most meaningful project I’ve done or have worked on is the song I’m finishing now so it can be released January 12th next year. The song will be titled “Heir”, and it’s about my son. The planned release date is actually my son’s birthday. The song means so much to me because it’s probably one of the most personal songs I’ve ever created to date. Read more>>

Mars Marshall

My short film, “A Priceless Proposal”, is the project that has impacted me the most by far. “A Priceless Proposal” was my love letter to the romance tropes we don’t often see portrayed for queer couples. It features two masked rival thieves who fight to steal a prized diamond ring for their partner. Once unmasked, they realize they had been meaning to steal it for each other the entire time. Read more>>

Ryan O’Doud

The most meaningful project I have worked on is The Temple of Lucifer Sophia. The Temple is a crystallization of my spiritual identity in OCI. It exists as a conjoining of all media that I work on. The Temple is literal and figurative. It is the full body of my work, as well as a physical location. I work in multiple disciplines. For instance, Bitter, Inc. is the music arm of what I do. Read more>>

Kerriann Ostlund

The most meaningful project I ever worked on was my novel, “Good Enough,” that was published back in 2018. “Good Enough” originally started as a healing narrative I had started for myself after leaving an abusive relationship. After telling some friends about what I was doing, I was encouraged to consider publishing my story in order to raise awareness to this prevalent issue. The point was raised that sharing my story could be impactful in providing insight into what emotionally abusive relationships can look like. Read more>>

Ash Frost

I’ve always been obsessed with Pokemon, so I knew I wanted to do something related to that. When a customer came to me to commission a Poro kigurumi from League of Legends, I had so much fun that I wanted to see if I could do the same with Pokemon. So I reached out to my friends to see if anyone would be interested in having me make Pokemon onesies. Read more>>

Katie Ruiz

The Pompom Project helped a lot of people through the pandemic and that was a great feeling. We were able to connect and work together even when we weren’t together. The pompom project is a group art project. People make pompoms, those cute fuzzy yarn balls often used in craft and decoration. But we make thousands of them and create huge art sculptures out of them that go to museums and galleries. The craft was cathartic during the stressful time and helped people focus on a positive cause. Read more>>

Cliff Goldmacher

My workshops helping business teams explore their creativity and improve their ability to innovate by teaching them to write songs are deeply meaningful to me. Read more>>

Ashlan Alderton

I’ve dedicated my career to documenting the everyday beauty and chaos of families around Michigan. Every “Day In The Life” session I’ve had the honor of documenting has been unforgettable and unique. The most meaningful project has been the growth of my own family. Documentary family photography is a niche genre of photography. It’s for sentimentalists and family historians. I’ve been making photos of my family long before I had children. Experiencing life is such a gift, but to photograph our life; exactly as I see it? That’s my love letter to my family. Documenting our legacy and our love has been the most meaningful project for me. Read more>>

Ellen Starski

This is a very interesting question. It’s my thought that all creative endeavors/projects are meaningful and are ultimately guiding us to our next life experience with a mind that is more open and prepared for obstacles and tests that may arise on the journey. Before we recorded my last two projects I had sang in cover bands and dappled in studio projects for over 10 years. Read more>>

Chelsea Evans

Several years ago a client came to my home and brought with her a dresser and a story. She had lived in a marriage filled with trauma and emotional abuse for many years. She stayed because she believed she was what he told her, “Worthless”. She finally found the courage to leave. She recovered and she began to thrive. She asked me to paint from her story. Read more>>

N.Dia Webb

The work I make currently is the most meaningful thing in my life. My artwork is informed by delving into divergent issues that come from mental health while combating societal stigma surrounding speaking about these struggles. I utilize my own positive and negative experiences while using imagery found in science fiction, comic books and gothic art and architecture. Read more>>

Katrina Uritis

The most meaningful project was one with these two women who wanted to paint on baby clothes to surprise their sister who is having a child with a mental disability. I was able to guide her in her design and help her execute the final product. Read more>>

Laura Irmis

I feel my artwork is very personal and meaningful to me, it expresses stories and experiences about my lineage and my life. But when I think back, I believe the TRUST BIRTH Art Exhibition was the most meaningful as a whole. Read more>>

TG The Mogul

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was a working on the recent fashion show with Tim Johnson Productions on the Pink Holiday Fashion Frenzy Fashion Show and Benefit. This project was one that celebrated those that have triumphed over breast cancer. With my bonus dad passing from Lymphoma Cancer, cancer has a really soft place in my life and this project meant so much. Going into the casting call with models all I knew was that I wanted to be a part of this doing photography or media coverage. Read more>>

Taarika John

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work on a dream project with the United Nations. The UN Human Rights Office was launching a global campaign for International Migrants Day, amplifying the stories of migrants through an animated video series. We created 14 animated short films, each one telling the personal story of undocumented persons around the world. My role was to help visualize, storyboard and illustrate each video. Read more>>

Megan Stezka

Publishing a cookbook! This specific project unexpectedly got me into becoming a full-time freelancer and business owner a year and a half ago. Currently, I’d say 75% of my business is working with local restaurants. And this summer, I found out there was an article naming me as one of the top food photographers in Minneapolis! When I found it, I was like, WOW… no way, I can’t believe this! Read more>>

Sarah Van Sciver

About 25 years ago when I was attending Evergreen State College (known for its integrated and holistic approach to education), I was part of a program called the Fool’s Journey. It was through my explorations of creativity that the idea of a ‘soul seed’ came to me. In essence, we each have a seed within us full of unlimited potential, containing all of our unique gifts that only we can give. Read more>>

Mia Broder

Four months after Russia decided that borders no longer applied to them, fear and terror moved into the Olkhovskie’s home in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Only 40 miles from the Russian border, their days are filled with wondering not if they will be attacked but when. Read more>>

TDSG

A meaningful project that I’ve been working on is Posh Life the Movie, dropping on December 9. This is my third project I’m releasing on all major platforms and my third full album. I feel like this project is a script to my life in a sense of understanding who TDSG is, not only as an artist, but as the evolving individual that I am. It’s the evolution of Tweeze the Swaggy God transforming into TDSG. Read more>>

Breena Nuñez

One project that I started years ago as a perzine/me-search zine was called “Colocha-Head”. I wanted to create a zine that answered some pretty difficult questions surrounding African heritage in El Salvador, and part of that was inspired by being a part of a collective that created a Latinx solidarity zine for Black Lives Matter. That zine helped me gain visibility from other Salvadorans who wanted to support my work, but to also hold our community accountable for the erasure of Black history and heritage within the culture. Read more>>

Grace Lane-Smith

This past summer I had the opportunity to create a photo mural for my town. What I did was create a 4′ x 6′ diptych on canvas, then had it photographed, edited, and printed on three aluminum panels for a total of 8’x12′ and secured behind Town Hall in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Read more>>

Queenie Moet

My most meaningful project is Queenie’s World! This is my 1st album. This Album explains some of my personality along with my thoughts. I’m a overthinker and I think my Album expresses this perfectly lol. From start to finish you get a glimpse of my Life thru my eyes! Read more>>

Jennifer Wisdom-Muentes

The most meaningful project I have ever been honored to create is called Camp Yampire, which was born in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a free online summer camp experience for adults that was created to combat the negative effects of isolation. I run a small events company that is my “bread and butter” and have seen my share of success in NYC for over a decade. Read more>>

A.J. Throwback

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on at this point of my creative career has been my most recent EP series, ‘The Late Bloomer’. Originally conceived as a third-person narrative album loosely based on my life, ‘The Late Bloomer’ arose from my need to be more transparent as a hip hop recording artist. I have observed how much people gravitate towards artists who are relatable and intrepid in being vulnerable and this project has been one of my biggest forays into that creative space. Read more>>

Mike Kimmel

I had the great good fortune to audition for eight-time Academy Award winning writer and director, Francis Ford Coppola in 2016. Mr. Coppola was working on “Distant Vision,” a personal passion project that he had been preparing for more than thirty years––a semi-autobiographical epic encompassing three generations of his own family. Read more>>

Elijah McDonald

My most meaningful project I worked on to date is “Sith Lord.” I’m a huge Star Wars fan since a kid and putting the two things I love (music and syfi) together is something I always wanted to do and with the help of a good friend and producer “Hot Take.” We were able to create a masterful music collaboration. Mixing hip hop with Star Wars that resembles what Wu-Tang did with Karate/kung fu culture. If your a fan of raw rap and dope lyrics this is what you want to hear. Read more>>

Lorena Jaramillo

I am currently working to premiere the long-awaited, length-evening work of Sydnie L. Mosley Dances (SLMDances), a Black-led dance theater company. The show, titled PURPLE: A Ritual in nine spells will premiere on June 9th 2023. I feel honored to present the work because SLMDances was my first job after graduating college with a degree in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College in 2019. After 4 seasons with the company, out of which two were mostly online due to the pandemic, I am thrilled to take the stage alongside the multigenerational cast of 12. Read more>>

Michael Lewis

The most meaningful project in my line of work has been running Aural Compass Projects, a non-profit music organization dedicated to performing and promoting lesser-known works, primarily in the Classical genre. When I was in my graduate degree at Arizona State University I noticed that there was this gap in programming in the concert halls. Read more>>

Monti The Artist

Since I have been doing this for over 2 decades now, I have to say there have been many meaningful projects I have worked on throughout the years and all for different reasons. One that sticks out to me in more recent years, would have to be the one of my records titled “Echo” off my last EP titled “This Is For You.” It is one closest to my heart. Read more>>

Cudlino

The most meaningful project I worked on would have to be my debut full-length album called “W.I.T.S.” (Written in the Stars). I was working on my “California Dreamin’” EP when I was approached by a producer to participate in his contest of recording 15 songs using his instrumentals within 45 days. The winner would receive a cash prize, additional instrumentals of their choice, and studio time for their next album. Read more>>

Rachel Geng

I wholeheartedly believe the most passion and meaning I’ve instilled into anything is my current project, STARWEAVE (https://starweave.page.link/newsletter), a tactical RPG about systemic roles and the hand empathy can play in ending a cycle of pain. Read more>>

Ed Hill

My upcoming one-hour comedy special titled “Stupid Ed”. It is a follow up show to my first comedy special, “Candy & Smiley” on Amazon Prime. Comprised of introspections about Ed’s relationships with the female figures in his life, this show explores the values that I, a first-generation Taiwanese Canadian immigrant, have learned from my motherland, Canada. Read more>>

Crystal Miller

The project I am working on right now. I am an art student currently and I am getting ready for my BFA, which is basically an oral exam and showcasing my work. The work I’m making right now is about Afro-futurism and creating spaces that are safe for Black people. This is very important to me because growing up I always lived in predominantly white spaces, and never felt like I fit in even when I tried to conform to their social ideals. Read more>>

AL&EM

Making engagement and wedding rings has become incredibly meaningful for us. It’s not something we really intended to do but friends started asking us to make their rings and it just felt right. It was special for us to be a part of their stories, but it was also special for them because they knew who’s hands had made their symbolic rings. Once we’d done a few rings for friends, other people started asking too and we were excited to keep sharing that personal experience more and more. We’ve had so much fun doing these custom projects that we’ve decided to launch an AL&EM engagement and wedding ring collection. Read more>>

Ebony Adell

My most meaningful projects right now are my art exhibitions and my latest collections, “Chakrasana” and “The 3rd Dimension.” Read more>>

Lea Lachey

The most meaningful project to date is on a show I created called label•less. It is a project that my husband and I started working on 4 years ago dealing with racism, self worth, homophobia, sexism, disability, classism and bullying. Label•less is a musical journey towards acceptance. Focusing on the issues that affect our society. With our passionate cast we have performed this production multiple times and we will be touring it in the spring of 2023. Read more>>

Phyllis Jackson

Creating a mentor program for boys being raised without active fathers, or positive male influences. Read more>>

Sophia Rodriquez

6.24.2022 is a poem I wrote on the supreme courts decision to overturn roe v. wade. Poetry for me is always meaningful but when I can add a voice to woman, especially in the midst of one of the greatest impacts to woman’s reproductive rights i’ve seen in my life time, it gives me hope into the possibility that a man can begin to empathize with our experience. Read more>>

Willie Mack

Hands down my most meaningful project thus far has been releasing my ep Handsome. That project is the result of me fully trusting myself and betting on me. I started working on a project in late 2018 entitled “GloUp Gumbo”. Although I liked the project I didn’t love it. I wanted something that truly showed off my vocal capabilities , something I could play constantly and never get tired of . Read more>>

Rosśa Crean

The most meaningful project of mine to date has been my operatic duodrama, “The Priestess of Morphine.” The concept came to me during a short time of many losses in my life, but I feel that it was my father in particular (who had most recently passed at that time) who brought the central figure of that story to my attention from the Other Side. Read more>>