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.

Ivey Johnson

As a photographer i am approached by many clients, each with their own array of needs. I have worked with so many great people from destination weddings to fabricators needing images of their finished projects. However, it is the clients that come to me with animals in mind that always bring me the greatest source of joy. I have worked with a local farm for going on two years now. I help out with events, tend the animals and take photos when needed. I consider the farmers my friends after many cold mornings and warm meals shared together. Read more>>

Omari Washington

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on would have to be “Lethal Weapon”. Working on the tv show as a co-star in episode 10 in season 1 was a pivitol moment in my career. This project is meaningful to me because it’s the first time I received a trailer for my role and also the first time in my career when I made a few thousand plus residuals. It was also the first time I had a speaking role on a show that aired on national television. Read more>>

E.d Adegoke

For me, Art I believe is an intermediary between man and his aesthetics. I see Art as a mouthpiece for mankind an expressive tool in which the Artist just like in poetry we’ve the poet persona, his tone and mood in which the poem was inspired this is the same way I feel about Art too having said being a poet and a writer also makes me a better Artist and never makes me run out of ideas. Not trying to be boastful of my creative credibility but I’m one of those few Artists who doesn’t experience any sort of creative block it’s so many things to ponder on for me as a creative individual, I consider myself a driving force tho I’m not everything I wanna be yet, don’t know how close or how far I am to it but I believe in pushing boundaries and more of pragmatic endeavors I can be all I wanna be. Read more>>

Deanna Radulescu

Embarking on the journey of creating and nurturing the Label Free Podcast was a labor of love and personal transformation. It all began as a passion project, sparked by a profound desire to shed the weight of negative labels that had burdened me throughout my life. Having experienced the hardships of abuse, widowhood, and surviving human trafficking, I was intimately familiar with the suffocating effect of these detrimental labels. They led me to believe that I was undeserving of many things. Read more>>

King lop

– The come up (1,2 &3) – Thru Hell To XXL
– backwoods & love songs (1,2 & 3) Read more>>

Michael and Emily Endo

We have some exciting projects and events happening at our studio this season. In December we’re offering a month long series of workshops focusing on scent – including “Natural Perfumery”, “Mixed Media Fragrance”, and “Incense-making”. Plus past and current students are invited to our Open Studio Perfume Lab, which is a brand new open session where students have full access to the perfume lab materials and equipment. The workshops in this series can be taken individually or as a set to create a foundation in perfume formulation and aromatic materials. Read more>>

Chantel Deniese

As an Entrepreneur and Artist, I consider any project that I get involved with to be meaningful. It is important for me to give all of my attention to each project that I work on. If my heart is not connected to it, I can’t do it. The one thing that helps me to know whether I should take on a project is whether it aligns with my value system. So whether it is partnering with a colleague or networking with another creative person, whoever it is, there is a mutual mindset that we share which allows all parties to make it meaningful. Read more>>

Femi Olajire Akande

My research project presently focuses on PEACE. I see the need to explore this path in a time like this when the fabric of our human existence is being threatened by war. I explore different media in art to promote the culture of peace. I was motivated to work in this direction after I did series of artworks during my graduate (MFA) program at the School of Fine Arts, Houston Christian University, Houston Texas. I used the current war between Russia and Ukraine as a case study on my thesis project. These are conceptual allegorical mix-media installation art of glazed ceramic wares visualizing the movement of squirrels responding to the clarion call to seek peace. Read more>>

Melanie Gillott

On November 3rd, 2023, I released my debut EP: “Unpredictable” which has been a significant and meaningful milestone in my career so far. “Unpredictable” is a reflection of the human experience. While we are all on our own paths, what I’ve realized is that the one thing we all have in common are the different emotions we will experience at some point in this lifetime. Happiness, sadness, first love, heartbreak, disappointment, confusion, betrayal…these are just a few of the emotions we all experience and from my personal experience, in the most unpredictable ways. “Unpredictable” is more than just a collection of songs–it’s a mosaic of experiences, feelings, and memories. Read more>>

Brian Lesiangi

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on recently, took place shortly after I joined The Mill. It was a collaborative effort involving The Courageous Conversation Global Foundation, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and Critical Mass. Our mission was to create an awareness campaign focusing on the experience of driving as a person of color in the United States. Read more>>

Jonah Leahy

Creating an inclusive storytelling class has been the most meaningful project I have worked on so far. During my time in art school, I noticed that my professors were hesitant to move beyond Disney or Pixar’s easily digestible style. However, nowadays, stories that genuinely represent all types of people have the most impact. I saw a gap in the traditional art education system, as well as the lack of outside resources, and decided to address this issue. Through interviewing individuals from various parts of the world, the class teaches Artists of Privilege how to tell heartfelt stories from an empathetic and accurate perspective, regardless of their background. Read more>>

Ruoyan Er

I’ve actually had a big theme over the years, which is “stories of people suffering from mental illness.” As a listener, I feel it’s my duty to strip away the emotion and the subtlety. Probably the most significant design for me is my “Serendipity” series. I tried to strip away the emotions and use the texture of the knit to reflect the charm of textile. Letting the unevenness of the touch pile up. Let the story of the teller become touchable and embraceable. You can feel the contradiction between the struggle and acceptance of each storyteller behind the soft texture and strong colors. Read more>>

Keiko Kira

My most meaningful project is definitely starting a family business Keiko Furoshiki with my son Tyler and daughter-in-law Andrea. Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth. I am a Japanese-American who was born in Japan and came to the US as a teenager. Because of my background, I embrace our similarities and respect our differences when I meet people. To me, our community becomes larger and more accepting of each other when we connect with others and share the beauty of different cultures and traditions. How do I reach out to people to make this connection? Well, my medium happens to be visual art. Read more>>

Cara Lynch

In 2016, I installed a permanent work for the NYC MTA subway station at Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn. Just a few years earlier (while a senior in undergrad), I had defined this as one of my lifetime career goals as an artist. Many of the artists I admire most have completed a project for MTA Arts and Design, and I was (and still am!) incredibly honored to be included among them. Read more>>

Jesús Castro Gonzalez

I work for a few nonprofits in northern Colorado that work with the Latinx and Immigrant Communities. In both organizations, I am allowed to create programs related to arts and creativity. I’m working on a storytelling project with a few other nonprofits in town to empower Latinx families. I’m creating a couple of writing workshops for LGBTQ folks and another one with the theme of dia de los Muertos. I’m also collaborating with some incredible community leaders to create short plays that represent our beautiful Latine community, we want our community to see themselves represented in a positive way, representation matters! Read more>>

ROBERT ROESCH

What I do can not be categorized into one project. I have built many sited sculptures over the years. Each time I was selected to do this, I felt honored, a bit frightened, and fully aware of the huge responsibility each project was. Concept time was the most exciting, moving from nothing to a fully realized idea through many drawings and model building. Read more>>

Aarti Shah

A play called Exodus, which was performed in London in June 2023. This play was about the Ugandan Expulsion and the migration from India to Uganda to England. I kept saying to myself that I’ve not seen enough stories about the migration from India and really want to see more around it told. It was an absolute honour to be a part of the storytelling of something so close to home. The play was also based on real life stories, some of whom came to watch the play, so the fact that we got to perform these stories to a real life audience and the people themselves added another layer and highlighted the importance of these stories. Read more>>

Ololade Gbadamosi

One of my most meaningful projects that I take pride in is The Uprizing Krump event. Krump is a street style dance created in South Central Los Angeles California. It is an acronym for Kingdom Radically Uplifting Mighty Praise. Growing up in Minnesota our only access to Krump was either watching it via YouTube, or attending a Krump event either in California or other areas in the US. Read more>>

7 Works Collective

Our entire reason for existing as a collective is “The Project” or as we call it “Our Story”.

In 2018, two of the 7 Works Collective artists applied to the Gibraltar Point Artscape Artist Residency program and were accepted to the residency. Both artists were so inspired by the experience of immersing themselves in their art practices for a concentrated time, they applied again in 2019. Both artists were again accepted and travelled to Toronto Island in May along with three other artist-friends from various art disciplines. Read more>>

Christine Stoddard

There are several projects that hold a special place in my heart, but one of the stand-outs is “Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares.” This started as a poetry book and eventually became a stage play and visual art series. The coming-of-age story follows Maya, a Salvadoran-American girl trying to understand her mother’s obsession with her dead grandmother. Visions of jaguars, owls, and cacti lend a magical feel to this memory play. The workshop run at Gene Frankel Theatre in New York City was a turning point in my career, showing me that I had a future in this highly competitive field. I was floored when the play was chosen as a core production for The Tank in Midtown. It premiered in September 2023 and I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. Fiamma Piacentini directed and it dazzled. Read more>>

Kindra Keitel

My most meaningful projects are always the ones inspired by my family. My mom’s flower gardens almost always find their way into my work. Fishing trips with my dad are there, as are my grandparents’ stories of their camping adventures or my other grandparents’ story of how they courted in a horse and buggy. When I’m drawing on these sources of inspiration, I can’t help but infuse my work with the deepest, most heartfelt, most important parts of who I am. Read more>>

Somos la Semilla USA

At Somos la Semilla USA Official Ricky Martin Fan Club, we take immense pride in our volunteer events and initiatives. These are the projects that hold real significance for us!
Our aim is to support others by organizing various online initiatives and actively participating in local community events. Read more>>

Sarah Hannevik

My family and I lived in Busan, South Korea from 2008-2011 and it was here I found myself artistically. I was welcomed into a small art community with open arms despite not speaking the language and not having the credentials other artists had. I met curators and artists that appreciated my art, encouraged me and gave me space to show and sell my work. It was here I had my first exhibition. It changed me both artistically and as a person. Read more>>

Fawn & Jo

All of our projects have been meaningful because we’ve been able to not only fill a need in our community but also because we’ve been able create space for meaningful connections to take root. Read more>>

Kenneth May

Every Liquid Arts project we engage in is meaningful at some level. In the last year, we held two events that resounded in our local community. First, we dedicated a Liquid Arts Open Stage event to the plight of the women and people of Iran called “Women, Life, Freedom.” Secondly, we dedicated an installment of our Books and Authors series to Dendeviin Terbishdagva, the former acting-Prime Minister of Mongolia. These events were very inspiring. At Women, Life, Freedom, two of the young, Iranian female performers cut off their hair in a symbolic act of defiance. Read more>>

Neal Barnard

When my brother was perhaps three or four years old, my mother tucked him into bed with a poem: “Nighty night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.” And the poor boy couldn’t sleep a wink, imagining insects hovering over his bed. I began to think about how we put lots of creepy images into children’s minds: “She cut off their tails with a carving knife,” “When the bough breaks, the cradle crashes to the ground.” “Jack and Jill went up the hill, and Jack suffered a traumatic brain injury.” Read more>>

Xiayang Li

In June 2023, we shot a USC thesis short film called The Act of Crying, written and directed by me. The story follows a Chinese man who cannot cry and works with an acting coach to prepare himself for an upcoming performance. The premise is inspired by the Chinese cultural value placed on family relationships and the social stigma against men for expressing their feelings. It’s a subject often frowned upon in conversations. We made the film specifically to spark more discussions and hopefully an emotional response from viewers not limited to the Chinese audience, but the audience from every other community. Read more>>

Ramon Aguirre

There are a few meaningful projects im currently working on. The first project that i currently have sitting on my easel is a piece for an album cover that’ll be used by a local metal band that goes by the name “Clarion Void”. Its a piece that was created from my imagination of a monster like figure down on its knees with an arched back as if in agony. The second meaningful project that was recently completed was actually a donation to Manitou Springs Elementary School fundraiser for something called “ The Manitou Monster Project” to encourage kindergartners to pursue art which was very fun, they give a local artist a kids painting of a monster and one has to create an interpretation of that piece. The third meaningful project that im still gathering ideas for is for a solo exhibit i will have at Kreuser Gallery in 2025 around July. Read more>>

Barbara Hulme

I am an artist with an interest in society being inclusive – especially concerning health and disability. I was very lucky to have been asked by Laetitia De Guiche to paint her portrait after her having had an operation for breast cancer. She sent me some photographs of herself, revealing her scar and looking glamerous and beautiful too, and said she would find it uplifting. Read more>>

Fabiola Masserant

I have worked in the beauty and fashion industry for a little over 20 years. For all these years I have realized that even with external beauty up to date, what really counts is the way a person feels. I understood that this feeling of dissatisfaction is completely linked to comparison, generating low self-esteem and blocking self-confidence. Through my personal image consultancy service, I help my client to get to know themselves better, understanding their style and values in order to convey the desired message. When we know who we are, we understand that we are unique and we know what to do. That’s why I can say that this current job of mine has been the most meaningful of my professional career for me. I feel like I live my purpose and transform lives for the better. Read more>>

Gina Zaffarano

The most meaningful project I’ve ever undertaken is without a doubt, the creation of Ziggy’s Art Bus. As a business owner for nearly 30 years, co-owning The Hair District Collective in Uptown and District on 50th in Edina, I’ve always found fulfillment in building and nurturing communities. However, I also yearned to do something in addition, something profoundly unique, that would bring light and sunshine to the lives of those who need it most: kids in hospice care and facing critical life-threatening conditions. Read more>>

Vivienne Aerts

A project that has meaning to me is my latest album ‘Typuhthâng’ [pronounce: Type-of-thing] which features 100 female musicians who recorded on my original songs. Because of my work with Vervool, a bespoke multi-sensory experience launched with my pastry chef husband, Ted Steinebach, fans will receive a bar of “Original Beans Femmes de Virunga Chocolate” with every purchase of the album. The Femmes de Virunga are a cacao farm collective of 1500 women in Virunga State Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo who are managing, operating and growing a cocoa farm and tree nursery. Read more>>