About the Artist

Our Mission

To make the world a better place, by inspiring hope through the art of giving. The Giving Canvas aims to raise awareness and funding for charities to bring about positive social change. 

Creating a nonprofit is not just contributing time and money. We really gave our energy, enthusiasm, creativity, passion, connections - everything we’ve got in order to become a powerful force for change. Every piece purchased leads to a $100 donation to charity. All proceeds from these pieces will be donated to Girls Leadership at the end of the year. To give is to choose EMPOWERMENT. #AllOurGirls

Partnership

Since 2020, The Giving Canvas has partnered with Girls Leadership (headquartered in Oakland, California). Girls Leadership utilizes in-person programs, online content, and research to support girls of color in becoming leaders. We often understand leadership to be an intrinsic trait when in reality it is learned and cultivated and requires real investment from us as a society. 

There are 25 million K-12th grade girls in the United States. If you combine the efforts of all national girl-serving organizations, we are only reaching about three million, or about 12% of girls. That means 22 million girls in the US aren’t being reached. Girls Leadership’s goal is to close that gap to elevate the girl-serving field, deepen our knowledge, and broaden our reach so that every single one of those 25 million girls have the awareness, skills and confidence to live as everyday leaders.

Note from the Artist

Hi there,

My name is Angie and I am an artist & an activist. 

In China, my dad had taught physics and my mom taught language classes. They left stable, comfortable jobs to raise me in the states while chasing the American Dream. Growing up, I experienced a lot of bullying and racism as one of the 3 Asian kids in my entire middle school. I got called Ling Ling, chink, etc. The isolation and depression grew in middle school, but it was useful for developing my creativity. I’ve always wanted to utilize my passion for art to benefit the community. This is the purpose of The Giving Canvas.

I first began my professional artistic training through Xinsheng Wang Studio School in 2006 and competed in various competitions including the US National Youth Art Competition, Congressional Art Competition with Texas Congressman Al Green, and eventually won the Grand Prize for the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Art Competition. After I graduated from UT Austin in 2014 with a double major in International Relations and Asian American History, I received my Advanced Painting and Darkroom Photography certifications from the Glassell Studio at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. During this time, I also designed wine labels as the Art Director for Napa Eagle Winery. 

But something was missing.

So in 2015, I moved to California to pursue a dual masters in International Development and International Management through the school of Global Policy & Strategy at UCSD. This is when I began creating the outline for my dream nonprofit. Philanthropy isn’t just a matter of doing the right thing. The most successful donors don’t just plunge right into their philanthropy. Bill Gates thought about his philanthropy for years before deciding to go into the work of combating infectious diseases in Africa. Andrew Carneige did the same before determining he wanted to create a national network of libraries. Few significant acts of philanthropy are spontaneous. Successful philanthropy comes from a deep place in the human psyche - it’s about finding yourself in this work. 

Find what you love doing and figure out how you can use your passion to help other people. That combination is unique to you. 

1 Peter 4:10

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."