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.

Shawnee Badger

Sorry but I have two projects tied for most meaningful. First was when I got cast in my first leading role. I played the title character in Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. It was a part that required a depth of emotion that was both challenging and beautiful to take on and also something quite familiar to me and close to home: love that runs deep and loss that cuts deep. It was a part that really allowed me to share my full heart. Read more>>

Sasha Ono

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is founding Lotus Chamber Music Collective. Initially, this project was a way for me to organize accessible chamber music performances for communities while I was working as a full time teacher. I connected deeply with the underlying philosophies of chamber music – open creative dialogue, ongoing pursuit of artistic development, and true artistic collaboration. Read more>>

Marcee Musgrove

Hi, my meaningful project(s) started in 2014 of professional work as an artist. I was actively involved in the art community of Charlotte North Carolina and the Charlotte Arts and Science Counsel reached out to invite me to be a part of their most recent program they created. It was structured to have local artists create 50 pieces of funded by the ASC to future collectors, it was created to introduce locals to meaningful art, educate them on collecting and have a personal and fun experience with art. Read more>>

Kim Belew

Human trafficking awareness and advocacy I was trafficked as a child but didn’t even know that until about 7 years ago. Since then I’ve been educating myself and speaking my story as part of my own healing and releasing the fear and shame carried by victims of severe abuse. Read more>>

Ashley Greer

One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on, and am currently working on is the co-founding of Art in Bloom DC. Art in Bloom DC follows the premise of the other national and international Art in Bloom exhibitions, but with a big emphasis placed on hi lighting and celebrating the florists that participate. The format is that floral designers use the medium of flowers to be inspired by and interpret a work of fine art. Read more>>

ChanMi Jung Pyles

In 2021, I released my first abstract original art collection, Imperfect Splendor, and it is one of the most significant projects I worked on during my artistic career. Imperfect Splendor paintings are created without traditional brushes. They are created with “spatulas or shapers” to create rugged, textured layers and depth. They are not clean-cut paintings. They are not traditional paintings. Read more>>

Tara Andris

I’ve been working on a project recently that’s been incredibly meaningful personally… I launched a weekly newsletter with the aim of helping readers discover artists and make art more accessible, called An Eye for Art. Though I’ve been a painter for nearly 20 years, I was also a museum educator, even went to grad school for teaching. After having kids I had to make some tough choices and realized that teaching in an art museum, painting, and raising kids was gonna be a stretch. Read more>>

Jake Minter

I’m currently working on directing the off-broadway show Dream On, Baransky! , written by Richard Baron & Dale Baron. The show is a comedy, a new play, and a quasi-musical : which is really all you need to say to know it takes a lot of effort, discipline and love to put together. Right on the heels of performing as Hamlet in the same Off-broadway venue (The John Collum – American Theatre of Actors), this time, I found myself on the other side of the casting table. Read more>>

Amy Zubieta

Lost & Found (short film). I developed this project along with 3 other women that I met in an online business of acting class in 2020. There didn’t seem to be a lot going on and the time and we wanted to create something of our own. We met on zoom at least once a week, sharing different ideas and then narrowing those down to want we wanted to do. Read more>>

Caitlin Du

I am currently working on an autobiographical coming of age graphic novel titled “Little Yellow”. It is about high schooler Jialin’s struggles with her college applications, self doubt, and relationship with her mother. During this process, her cat Little Yellow quietly supports her and inspires her emotional growth. Read more>>

Alicia Abram

I’m a glass artist and I was creating a beautiful winter scene that would become a curved sculpture. It involved screen printing a fairly large winter scene, which I had never done before. When I opened the kiln after it had fired, I was surprised to see it had worked! I don’t know why I doubted myself, but I did. It was beautiful! I had spent days and days trying new techniques and experimenting, and I was so proud of the outcome. Read more>>

Destinee Verduzco

I started a project that I hoped would be an opportunity to give back to kids who had the passion for dance and the curiosity of the Hip Hop culture. Growing up my dad and his 6 brothers all practiced the culture, from Graffiti, DJing, MCing and most of all Breaking. I was mad in love with it. I always wished someone would take me under their wing and teach me. I was a very clumsy and energetic kid. Read more>>

Mark McCarty

To be honest, this current project is the most meaningful project I’ve ever been involved with. The reason is multi-faceted. First, the pairing of Mike Smith our vocalist and myself was a fortuitous event for both of us. He was eager to start a band that had a sound like we now have, and I was writing music that he was looking for. We had a mutual friend that spoke to both of us about each other’s interest and we finally connected and immediately hit it off. Read more>>

Ryan Bruce

By far the most meaningful project I have ever worked on was making a feature film with some of my closest friends. I got my masters degree in theatre (directing emphasis) and due to the collaborative nature of theatre I developed some really deep relationships. That time in my life also coincided with a genuine passion for photography. Read more>>

Yu Qian

Human beings are inherently social creatures, requiring communication and interaction with others to accomplish many things. However, for some, social anxiety disorder (SAD) can be a significant source of distress. While some may view this as simply being introverted, it is, in fact, a genuine mental illness. Read more>>

Cari Melodic

I would say that every project I involve myself in has meaning! I enjoy being authentic and when I am focused on something I give it my all. I would say currently my first musical project titled “I Dedicate” is very meaningful to me because, it took extended periods of time to create, lots of hard work, and serious introspection to bring to life. Read more>>

Rachel Kozinski

Life has given me a lot to think about. It’s carried me down several paths, and I feel like I’ve lived a lot for my few years. About a nine months ago, with a lot on my mind, I decided to memorialize the lessons I’ve learned so far, while capturing the very human experience of it all. I’ve found music, especially live performance, to be one of the most raw and cathartic mediums for self expression, but as I looked out at the landscape of music at the time, I found few songs with uplifting content, like I wanted to hear. Read more>>

Darryl Yokley

To date, the most meaningful project has been the music from my band’s second album which is entitled, Pictures at an African Exhibition. It is a collaborative project involving my band, Sound Reformation, featuring special guest Nasheet Waits, a twelve piece wind ensemble, and artwork by London based artist, David Emmanuel Noel. Read more>>

Jason Olson

One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on was named “Celebration of Life”. This commissioned project was to capture the essence or what was important to a life lost in an accident. My goal was to use symbolism and even parts from the wrecked motorcycle. It took several phone calls with the customer to fully understand her husbands interests and things he was known for. Read more>>

Hannah Uche

Sometimes you need to be changed before you can change others. Sometimes you need to be developed before you can develop others. Sometimes you have to be taught before you can teach others. The most meaningful project I have worked on was my debut short film, The Domino Effect. It was meaningful not just for the audience it was intended to reach, but for my personal development as a filmmaker and director. Read more>>

Jenny Yoo

The MICA Pin project was the most meaningful project I have worked on in the Year 2022 fall. “The Lab” was a course from Maryland Institute College of Art that give students a chance to create and sell a product, figure out the market, target audience, packaging, and promotion. Read more>>

Pamela Jean

The release of my recent music video for my original song, “Small Country Town” has been my most meaningful project. I wrote the song in 2009 and it was dedicated to my sister when she went through a divorce. Our family never knew some of the things that were going on behind closed doors. When we found out how the relationship really was, and why she divorced the man she spent a decade with, my soul was crushed for her. Read more>>

Ashton Sotiro

My most meaningful project has been my Greek myth series. This is a series of editorial portraiture that pulls inspiration from figures and stories in Greek mythology, and retelling them through a modern photographic lens. As a kid, I was really into Greek mythology. I’m part Greek-Cypriot, so I think it was my way of connecting with my background and having something unique that I could identify with. Read more>>

Chloe Richardson

The most meaningful project I have ever worked on, by far, is my current photographic series “Ephemeral Equinoxes.” Its concept came about during Denver’s most brutal winter months in 2021. Still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, I began focusing my photography on my closest surroundings. Read more>>

Rachael Mamigonian

I am 21 weeks pregnant with our rainbow baby. I keep getting the same question from strangers, “Is this your first?” For a year and a half now, my husband and I have had to navigate similar questions. “How many kids do you have?” We could easily shut down these conversations, or give a roundabout answer that saves others from being uncomfortable. One thing I have learned about grief though is that our loved ones live on in our memories and we can hold space for them in conversations. Read more>>

Dennis Burke

My research agenda is situated at the intersections of interdisciplinary methodologies, contemporary art theory, and conceptual analysis. I am particularly interested in questions of image production, what it is, how it is constituted and reshaped, and how people respond to and negotiate it, especially in contemporary contexts and under the condition of technology and new media. Read more>>

Lauren Rund

I’ve had a handful of meaningful creative projects over the last several years or so. Each one is so unique and I’m honored that part of my creative craft is helping others tell their stories. I think in the last year or so, I’ve really leaned in to telling the motherhood story. My Mother’s Day Mini Sessions are some of my most popular to date, and I began offering these sessions only after I became a mom myself. Read more>>

IMAN BENET

Plagued by the sight of all of the collective unrest I was seeing all over the world post-2020 till now, a some point it became clear to me that the root cause of our collective suffering seemed to be the growing sense of disconnection we had from the most important things around us – Our food, our environment, our community, and our own bodies. Read more>>

Haley McMillan

I’ve always felt the most fulfilled in life when doing one of two things. First, doing things where I am completely immersed in and enjoying the process. For me, that has always been music, writing, art and dance. Second, doing things that help someone. Doing art professionally happened organically–I started illustrating portraits on my iPad of my friends and family, Read more>>

Sean Patrick

Last year I released my second EP titled ‘Few & Far Between’ which was a huge step for me. This project came at a crucial time in my life and music career where I was going through a lot of trials and tribulations as an independent artist trying to break into the industry. This project also holds some of my best and most personal music. Read more>>