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.

Jessie Keating

So far, the most meaningful project I’ve worked on was my Master of Fine Art studio thesis, called “The Internally Obvious.” I created an installation centered on a painting of my body facing a full-length mirror. Read more>>

Ri Ro

Our projects are deeply rooted in real-life experiences, each reflecting the emotions we’ve navigated during those seasons. Read more>>

Marta Elam Dorton

Breadth of Being Breadth of Being is an ongoing project in which I utilize repurposed items that are usually cast aside or, not often enough, recycled. Read more>>

Ken Womack

In the last two years I have honed in on an artistic approach / style that is connecting with people, and to my past. As a kid I loved to construct things. Read more>>

Michelle Giraldo

Throughout my career as a writer, I have had the privileged opportunity to create several significant projects for me. I have written two children’s books titled “My Little Piggy” and “My Little Piggy: Read more>>

Mark Steven Doss

I would have to say that my first attempt at singing the role of Jochanaan (John the Baptist) in Strauss’ Salome at the famed Teatro alla Scala was quite memorable for many reasons. Read more>>

Randy Myers

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on would be a project I created about ten years ago called “One Hat at a Time”. For every hat I sold, I would donate a hat to children in need throughout Michigan. Read more>>

Sarah Bonsignore

I am currently having the time of my life co-producing a debut album with my “The Magnolia Janes” duo partner. “The Light Years” is due for release on July 12th and I am so excited to share these new, “heart” songs with the world. Read more>>

Tiffany Mormando

One of my favorite things to do is donate my time & services to high school girls in my community. Every year for Prom, the local Junior Service League works with the guidance counselors and faculty at each school to choose a senior young lady who may not have been able to enjoy her prom experience. Read more>>

Allie Yacina

In 2021 I was selected to create a screen printed parks poster for the Portland Parks Foundation. This project has lead to so many opportunities for me – I seem to have found this niche of illustrated landscape posters. Read more>>

Juan Pablo Santa Luna

-In Diversity, Unity. A project about Building a monument that celebrates the diverse Hispanic community and the unification with the American Society – Read more>>

Esmeralda Vasquez

I’m currently in the middle of a full circle moment with the project I’m on right now, so let me dive into it real quick. Last fall, I applied to a call from the City of Bellevue seeking an artist to design a creative Pride intersection pavement treatment for Downtown Bellevue. Read more>>

April Liu

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was my very first collaboration with my roommate. We embarked on this project with an incredibly low budget, and it marked my roommate’s debut as a director. Read more>>

Eden Gutstein

The project I will be sharing today has been months in the making and finally came into fruition in January. This winter I released my very first book; a tattoo coloring book. Read more>>

Mitul Shah

When I traveled to Montreal for the first time, I found their Metro system intriguing due to its brutalist architecture and the distinct appearance of each station. Read more>>

Jenna Duranko

There are several meaningful projects that I have worked on through music over the years. Writing and recording my albums and singles have been meaningful. Read more>>

Natalia Lee

Everything I publish is meaningful, in the sense that it’s thought out and edited before anything gets done. Whether it’s a recipe or a worldbuilding post, everything I share on Tastes of Tamriel/Talviel’s Kitchen is created with what I have in mind rather than what I think the audience wants (that never goes well.) Read more>>

Brooke Ripley

As both an environmentalist and an artist, it can feel like I’m torn between two worlds. Creating can feel antithetical to environmentalism, especially when our sourcing and production systems enact so much harm on our environment. Read more>>

Jackie Smook

Hello! My name is Jackie Smook, owner of Jackie Smook Company LLC and the creator of Dilly’s World! This is a TV show pitch for children for the whole family to watch. Read more>>

Ori Menache

As an artist, I want to create art that is meaningful to me. The thing that drives me to make art is my faith that what I express through my art is relevant to my life and to the lives of others, and, by that, I hope it could create a positive change in the world. Read more>>

Eugene Sopher

It would have to be the creation of my coloring book for the hood called “The Bear that Cares “and my board game “Cold City”. Read more>>

Sophie Green

So far, my Commodities collection has been one of the most meaningful projects for me. Every collection I put together has some kind of meaning – a message, but this one seems different. Read more>>

DAVIS88

My most meaningful project is a song and music video I released called “Get Up.” The song is a shout out to the Carolinas. All my time growing up was spent in North and South Carolina. Read more>>

Amy Tingle

I feel lucky to be able to say I’ve worked on a number of really meaningful projects. Today, I’m choosing to tell the story of one of the community arts projects I co-created with my wife, Maya Stein. Read more>>

Aaron Harrington

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I started Queer Snail at the same time that I was coming to consciousness as a trans man. I could feel my artistic voice starting to solidify as I was coming to know myself more authentically. Read more>>

Travis Hopkins

A radio program that I host called “This Side Of Country” began collaborating with some local artists, and a local promoter in the spring of 2021. Read more>>

Kaitlin Orin

In 2021, I and Adam Raiola completed a mural for the Streetwise Mural Festival. We were able to center the mural around Kali Fajardo-Anstine and her book, Sabrina & Corina, which consists of short stories about indigenous Latina women of Denver and southern Colorado. Read more>>

Britny Lobas

As an artist, I find that I process life through writing music. I write music as a form of release. My songs are usually stories of something that has happened in my life. Read more>>

Scott Vandenberg

The wedding industry revolves around the wedding, and rightfully so. Officiants, florals, caterers, and even photographers don’t have much interest in what occurs outside of the “big day”. Read more>>

Dip Patel

Film: MANCH When I first landed in LA, something incredible happened. Within the first fifteen days, I found myself flooded with work that would keep me busy for at least two months. Read more>>

Yae Seul Kim

Berklee College of Music World Tour Full Scholarship for Jazz piano, 2022 Jacksonville Jazz Festival Jazz Piano Competition selected as a finalist, 2024 Read more>>

Kristie Zhu

Funnily enough, my current project at MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) started more than a decade ago but I never explored it until now. Read more>>

Leslie Zemeckis

To me the most meaningful project that has come out of writing best-selling books and award-winning documentaries is starting a free mentoring group of professional female authors mentoring the next generation of younger female storytellers. Read more>>

SYDIR

I would have to say that my most meaningful project to date is my current single & video, “They Want Us To Party” Over the last 5-6 years, my best friend of 20 years, Terrell T-Rex Simon and I did several shows together. Read more>>

Steve Lawler Mojoko

EYEYAH! Its a magazine aimed at young people to address modern social issues. Topics such as Internet Safety, Anxiety, Money and other subjects which are not really in a traditional school curriculum. Read more>>

Liz Vukelich

One of the projects I’m the most excited about is a series called “Offering Cups.” Essentially, they are pairs of pointy-bottomed wood-fired cups, one with a hole in the bottom and one without. Read more>>

Alyssa Story

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is photographing my husband Luke Story’s projects. He’s a member of Float Like a Buffalo, a high energy 6-piece funk rock band out of Denver. Read more>>

Amy West

The performing arts has always been a vehicle to do good things in the world. Last year, as I was cleaning the bathrooms in preparation for my adult kids to come home to celebrate Mother’s Day, Read more>>

Nolan Veneklasen

In February of 2024 I premiered my short documentary “Young Lions” featuring the Tucson Chinese Lion Dance Troupe. This project has been a whirlwind of an adventure, spanning over 4 years and consuming many months of my life. Read more>>

Dashawn Johnson

All my projects hold significant meaning. As a children’s book author, I thoroughly enjoy collaborating with young people, their parents, organizations, and other influential figures in the lives of our future generations. Read more>>

Judith Brassard Brown

The book, The Path Through, a dialog of paintings and poetry on the subject of trauma, has recently been published and accompanies my exhibition (of the same name) at Kingston Gallery in Boston. Read more>>

Andrew Katz

“The minute they see me, fear me / I’m the epitome, of public enemy / Used, abused, without clues I refuse to blow a fuse / They even had it on the news” – Read more>>