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.
Avantika Bawa
Without doubt, it’s A Pink Scaffold in the Rann (2019), the third site-specific installation in “The Scaffold Series.” This series takes the scaffold beyond its functional purpose into a visual engagement with space and site makes it compelling not only as form, but as metaphor. It is strong and solid, yet porous; it is transitional—it is there to help something be created, after which it goes away; it is a bridge from one state to another. It spans, connects, and supports, then vanishes. Read more>>
Mattia Guolo
The most significant work of my career is the recent publication of the book NERO by Dolce & Gabbana. I have been collaborating with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana for two years; during this time, I have worked closely with the two designers and developed a strong connection with the brand’s aesthetics and values. During this period, I had the opportunity to work on various projects, including two invitations for the FW 23 women’s and men’s fashion shows. Read more>>
Tarsha Gary
Having been an accomplished and award winning Executive Chef for more than 26 years, my culinary journey afforded me the opportunity to explore my knowledge of food and passion for education and sustainability in a variety of special interests and projects. Read more>>
Sarah O’Connell
Each piece I develop as a Theatre Director and Creative Producer is a poetic experience crafted to communicate through collaborative action with an audience about the meaning we find in our relationships to others, and the worlds around us. When I turn my focus off-stage, I work as a Cultural Strategist to provide a vision for stakeholders on a mission, along with the process and partners for them to realize it. I love taking on projects that leverage the ingenuity and skills of local artists to solve seemingly “non-Arts” problems. Read more>>
Willie Chiles
I recently dropped a project called “Fear Of”. I worked on it for about a year or so. It is definitely one of my cleanest sounding releases. I spent a lot of time in the studio trying to make a good product to share with the people. Behind every great album lies a story, a journey of inspiration and self-discovery. “Fear Of” is no exception. Read more>>
Anna Koukouli Born
I’ve had my fair share of meaningless career advancement in my past. I was swallowed by my corporate life, and although I wanted to believe that a career in advertising can give me creative satisfaction, it’d been a black hole that was swallowing my soul piece by piece. Read more>>
Heather Shtuka
The most meaningful project has been writing and publishing my book, Missing from Me. It is a non-fiction account of my son’s disappearance in the ski village of Sun Peaks, B.C. on February 17, 2018. What started as a daily post on social media to keep people informed turned into a sharing of stories about my son and about our experiences of living in Sun Peaks and searching for Ryan every day. His Facebook page grew and today five and half years later almost 55,000 people have joined. Read more>>
Maya Osterman-Van Grack
I have had the opportunity to work at Mirror Image Arts for the past eight years. I started as a contracted teaching artist , working my way to the ED of Programs this past July. I founded our Restorative Theatre program in North Carolina eleven years ago while volunteering at a youth detention center. In 2018 I was asked if I wanted to bring the program into MIA and I immediately said yes! Read more>>
David Grauberger
I recently completed a short film “Valkyries Lantern”. This was a very personal project that I produced/directed/co-wrote/dp’d/edited. Feeling frustrated creatively with client work, I wanted a completely creative project. A chance to let my creative side run wild. My goal was to let that side dream up anything without limitation. I told myself try to execute the creative vision and if it sucks, cut the scene, but don’t cut it on the front end ( like we usually do). Rather, dive deep into it and go for it! Read more>>
Bobby’s Wrld
Well, to start. I want to acknowledge my First Full Length Album Titled “Everything’s Alright” which is still in the making and it being the most meaningful piece I’ve ever put together. Read more>>
Diana Laura Munoz
All my projects have significant meaning, but few of them touched me the most that I have them in my apartment hanging. I created three self-portraits where I remember being in a mental crisis. I am not talking about mental crisis that I needed to be in a hospital or prescribed medication. It was more about analyzing and admiring being who I am. Read more>>
Natasha Bowers
My current project is something that holds great meaning for me. As a senior illustration major at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), I get the opportunity to develop and self-direct a thesis project over the course of senior year. Or, in my case, my remaining semester in college. I chose to use this thesis project to build upon an idea for a comic book I’ve had for a while but never got the chance to fully realize. Read more>>
Drasko Vucevic
I’ve had the opportunity to create several projects this year that resonate deeply with me. Among these, the ‘Art of Time’ stands out. This initiative involved a generative and interactive art projection on the Santa Monica clock tower building. It’s a prime example of my passion for integrating cutting-edge technology, art, AI, sound and human interaction, offering people a novel way to engage with art. Read more>>
Salwa Meghjee
Last year, I had a reading of my play U-Haul Mesbians at The Tank in New York City, produced by my friend and graduate school classmate Kallan Dana. The play is about two Muslim women who throw a surprise wedding. At the time I was living in Chicago so Kallan introduced me to a director, Mehrnaz Tiv, who then cast the rest of the show. I also worked with a Palestinian composer, Fouad Dakwar. Read more>>
Uzo Ngwu
In 2021, I got the opportunity to co-direct and animate the opening for a short film in collaboration with the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute. Described as playful and informative, the film “Light the Way Home: Eileen Southern’s Story” introduces the major achievements of the pathbreaking music historian Eileen Southern (1920–2002), who in 1976 became the first African American woman tenured in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. I worked alongside filmmaker Daniel Huang and composer/performer Devon Gates to bring this project to life. Read more>>
Ahad Adesanya
I feel as though all my projects come from the heart, especially the ones that I had my hand in creatively directing. It’s a blessing to be able to follow my own ambitions to put forward an effort to make, what I call, my own project. Even when it comes to collaborations and client work, I feel to take it with some care, as everything I touch will be an extension of myself. I’m grateful to have many people respect the craft and for that, I have been able to attach a sort of sentiment to all my projects. Read more>>
Gabby McLoughlin
Hmmm.. that’s a hard one. I would just like to say, every project I have ever done & will do, will always be meaningful to me. I’m so grateful for every project that has been handed to me. Read more>>
X Li
“My latest project, titled ‘california love stories’ holds a place, in my heart particularly in the context of today’s fast-paced music industry. In an environment where the focus is often on rapid production, ‘california love stories serves as a homage to the core essence of creation – dedicating time and effort to create a true masterpiece. Read more>>
Angel Federico
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was the release of Shimmer. Shimmer is a record I released with a Hiphop Legend that goes by the name of Fat Joe. That record is meaningful because it was the start of a relationship. Me and fat Joe connected via social media by the grace of God. Read more>>
J Chambers
This year I’ve been working on a project entitled ‘Homecoming’ which builds on from the theme of Identity explored in my previous work ‘Escape The Kingdom’. The creation of this project has been a really liberating process, as its enabled me to explore who and what I am at the foundational basic human level. My Jamaican heritage has been a consistent theme in my recent work and I have been intrigued at the relationship that England has with the Carribean and Commonwealth as a whole. Read more>>
Nichol Norman
I have written and illustrated a childrens book that felt like a necessity for my daughter’s situation. She has severe Apraxia and couldn’t speak but could hear. She was thrown into public school with some basic American Sign Language but her classmates knew none. I couldn’t find a book that explained Apraxia and taught basic play signs together so I created one. Read more>>
Jasmine Alexander
As an actor and filmmaker, I’ve had the privilege of being involved in a number of meaningful projects that have left a lasting impact on both myself and audiences. From thought-provoking characters to stories that resonate deeply, each project has held its own significance. However, some of the most meaningful endeavors have been the projects I’ve written and directed. Being able to bring my own creative visions to life has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Read more>>
Tyler Nixon
In the last couple of months, I finished and submitted a book called “Fractured Souls” which took almost a year of research, dedication and listening to the stories of others. To get you up to speed, it’s a psychological thriller set in Tokyo, Japan that depicts a very misunderstood and over-stigmatized mental disorder. (Won’t say which one due to spoilers.) While the original inspiration from the story originated from my own journey with mental health, it ultimately became about those in the world who battle against trauma and giving them a chance to speak up through my story and help society push back the shadows that try to take them. Read more>>
Natalie Meyer
“The Book of S.H.E.” is an original art book that I curated and released in 2022. The Book of S.H.E., (acronym for Success, Heal and Emerge) is an artistic collection of my artwork using a combination of creative body paint and set designs with a focus on 10 local Edmonton female entrepreneurs and community builders who identify as BIPOC in my city. All models, photographers, makeup artists as well as myself, are local to Edmonton or Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In this book my readers can explore a multitude of ethnicities, journeys, local businesses and transformations of success and healing. Read more>>
Jess Goehner
It’s an absolute honor to make very specific, bespoke leather bags for clients who are looking to commemorate major life goals like a graduation, a big job opportunity, a wedding or travel. My most recent major custom was a laptop backpack for a landscape designer who has her own firm. She had a collection of patches gathered over her travels over the past two years and wanted to highlight them on a honey colored leather, functional backpack. Read more>>
Brittany Frederick
Every project I work on is something I invest in personally, because I want readers to care about it as much as I do. But the feature articles I’ve written about A&E’s true crime series “The First 48” will forever stick with me. I grew up wanting to be a homicide detective and still have a passion for law enforcement. The show introduced me to the exemplary work of the detectives of Tulsa Police Homicide, and they became people I looked up to for their compassion, professionalism and the similar personal investment they put into their cases. I wanted to be as tenacious and witty as Justin Ritter. Read more>>
Yu Chen
My favorite project is ‘Let Parents Stay’, which garnered seven awards in 2022, including accolades from the Type Directors Club Awards and Communication Arts. My journey led me to Jinling, a village in China’s Hubei Province, which is marred by poverty. The villagers, skilled in the art of Han Embroidery, struggled to earn a decent living from this craft. This financial hardship forced many young parents to seek work in distant cities, leaving their children behind, sometimes for years. Read more>>
Dahae Lee
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was my senior thesis as an editor, editing a short documentary called “Just Jacob.” Just Jacob is a story of a follower born with a rare genetic disorder called Treacher Collins Syndrome, which affects the development of facial bones and tissues, causing a facial deformity. Read more>>
Meco Velez
One of the most meaningful projects for me was my latest ep ‘Pleasure’. It was a collection of four songs that were very powerful. It was so meaningful because it was the first time I felt people would really be able to see that I could ACTUALLY sing. Ive always has insecurities about my voice and my vocal ability. Read more>>
Rui Dong
In the transformative landscape of 2023, I, as a filmmaker and artist, am elated to reflect upon the meaningful projects that have defined this pivotal year in my creative journey. At the forefront stands “The Mirror,” a short film that I directed and produced—a profound exploration of storytelling and visual expression. Following this, my involvement in projects such as “A Better Life,” “UMIT,” “Destiny,” “Creatures of the Night,” “The Serene Place Where The Stars Poop,” and “Revolutionary” has added layers to my identity as a producer. Read more>>
Micco Nami
Creating cohesive bodies of work is one of my primary focuses. In creating meaningful and timeless albums I found that one of the most important things to do is to allow life to happen. If you want to create something that feels like a complete story, you must allow a cycle of time to pass in order to receive inspiration organically. Life happens on its own time. Read more>>
Samuel Sauls
Throughout the creative path I’m on, I’ve worked on and created a number of projects that really evolved my skills and capabilities as an artist. Up to this point in my journey, I still feel that the most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date has been my college Senior Capstone show and the work I produced as a result of it. Read more>>
Tom Zawacki
I’d say the most meaningful project I’ve worked on has to be my current comedy show that I do once a month(ish) called Would You Rather with Tom Zawacki. I do it on Sunday nights at Bar Lubitsch in West Hollywood. It’s a loose comedy game show where comedians and celebrity guests answer uncomfortable questions. After I do some stand up at the top of the show I bring up my guest for some bantering and then we start the actual game where they spin my Would You Rather wheel to land on a category for a horrible question. There is a FREE PASS envelope the guests can open to get out of answering a question. Read more>>
Kenny Vasko
Two years ago, we started the Lafayette Music Fest in conjunction with a number of local venues and sponsors. We had 25 acts play across six venues throughout our town. It was the first time all the arts personnel of our neighborhood worked together on a common purpose, and it was a huge success. Read more>>
ZeroHour
In the summer of 2023, ZeroHour was asked to come record our best songs at 89.5FM, home of the Draylen Mason Studio. Without hesitation or need of meditation we happily agreed. The day was hot, sticky and ripe for the musical picking. We got to the studio early, helped the engineers set up, then were off to the races to record our upcoming live single, Eastside. Read more>>
Nadira Pankey
Gerald’s Hands is a story that’s close to my heart. I wrote, directed, and produced it with the talented Andrew R. McCallister, who also starred in and produced the film. Our goal was to raise awareness about autism, and I’m proud to share that the story has not only touched many hearts but has also been honored with a Telly Award for best social impact film. Read more>>
Jack Godfrey
The most meaningful piece of artwork I’ve made was my first attempt at a large-scale piece. Soon after I had made the conscious decision to commit to artistry, I had a vision of this piece come to me. I was in bed when a poem arose in my thoughts, describing in rather magical terms what this piece would look like. I knew I had to bring to life what I had heard. The next day I went out and bought a roll of paper and some hard pastels and got to work. Read more>>
Ryan Hartley
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve had the privilege of working on were collaborations with The Bitter Southerner Magazine, where I had the honor of having my photos published. As a native of the South, having grew up in northwest Tennessee, this opportunity was particularly special to me, as it allowed me to showcase the essence and beauty of the region I hold close to my heart. Read more>>
Grayson Novas
The project most meaningful to me is the short film titled “Chuck and Fern.” It means a lot to me because for one video games means a lot to me personally, and also I can relate to having seen my parents go through a divorce. Read more>>
Juliet Fischer
A few years ago I was in an existential crisis. I had been married 15 years, my kids were 11 and 14. I had done what I thought a ‘good mother’ would do. I had put my needs on hold to take care of my family. I would do a local show every now and then, but for the most part, I was ‘mom’ or Dougs wife. Enter an old friend of mine who was directing the show 9 to 5 and needed a strong female to play the lead. He asked if I could do it. Read more>>
Scott Jacobs
I was fortunate to start singing for a living right out of college. I was in a vocal group (gospel) that was on a label and charting songs off of our albums. Being a songwriter, I would pitch my songs to the guys in my group and our producer when it came time to record a new album. The blessing of being on a label is that there are thousands of songwriters pitching really good songs to the label. Read more>>
Andrew Jacobson
Recently, I’ve opened up a salon in my former Capitol Hill home. My company, Balmoré Art, was initially a private client art advisory service, but evolved into an art media company, and has recently incorporated a social practice of programming. The Salon serves as a space for academics, creatives, business leaders, journalists, politicians, and members of the community to convene, discuss, and come to mutual understandings through the arts. Read more>>
Chris Hagan
So, I would have to say the most meaningful project is the one I’m working on right now called “The Freedom & Honor Walk”. It’s a charity walk where I’ll walk all the way across the USA from the 9/11 Memorial in New York City to Coronado Bay in San Diego, California where the US Navy Seals train. It’s roughly a 2,800+ mile walk that I’ll be doing to help raise money for Folds of Honor. Read more>>
Pam Baker
The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on so far is Widows Who Wine. Widows Who Wine was launched in February of 2023. I lost my husband, Jon, to glioblastoma in November of 2021 and found the resources for navigating my new path as a widow to be sorely lacking. Pretty much everything out there revolved around church grief groups, which do serve a purpose, but they weren’t what I needed. I did give those groups a solid try but ultimately decided to work on my grief recovery by myself. Read more>>
Leif Lee
The most meaningful project I have worked on in my art career has been my Gender Euphoria project. This project started from a place of feeling the opposite of this, which was experiencing gender dysphoria since childhood. Growing up I was often told that my interests were not appropriate for the sex I was assigned at birth, and I carried a lot of shame and confusion about this. Read more>>