Bio
Agnes Qiu was born in South San Francisco growing up in a Montessori environment. She is a high school student at Pacific Rim International middle/high school where she will be graduating in 2025. Her mother influenced her interest in the arts when she was a child, by introducing painting on natural found materials such as small rocks. Since 2016 at age 9, she has been taking studio art classes at the Asian Arts Studio which during her junior year she was given a scholarship. Additionally, she has done art courseworks at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and College of San Mateo during high school.
Agnes is often inspired by her surroundings and the continuous change of world events that affect her life and draw from them. In a way, this allows her to have more of an activist angle. Agnes is also an artistic swimmer, which is another way to express her artistry in both water and her art. She enters art competitions where she can communicate and have the opportunity to express her opinion of certain topics in a more impactful way. She has participated in National art competitions and has won first place in the Congressional Art Competition of District 15 (2023), first place in the Cross Cultural Contest (2024), 2nd place in the state for the Young Patriotic Contest (2024), and High Merit Award for the Celebrating Arts Contest (2023, 2024). She has also won regional competitions first place for the Cal Water Contest (2021), the America Recycles Day Poster Contest (2018), and Conserve Water Contest (2015). On top of that her painting was selected Best in Show in the Day of the Dead Art Show (2023) and By the Light of the Moon New Year Art Show (2024).