Modesto high school student’s art to hang in U.S. Capitol for a year
A Modesto High School student’s artistic tribute to the Central Valley’s agricultural roots and her fieldworking family is heading to the nation’s capital.
Senior Andrea Valencia Zepeda has been selected to represent California’s 13th Congressional District in this year’s Congressional Art Competition. Her winning artwork, “California’s Sunshine Cow,” will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for one year.
Zepeda said her artwork was inspired by her family’s work in agriculture.
In her painting, she sought to capture California’s blue skies, green fields and cows — not as livestock, but as a radiant sun representing the region’s culture. Inspired especially by her mother’s resilience and dedication as a fieldworker, Zepeda included California poppies to symbolize both the state and her mother’s enduring strength.
“I wanted to dedicate this piece not only to my love of the Central Valley and its beauty, but to my mother, who has worked so hard to have given me the grace of living in California. Because of my mother’s inspirational and hardworking spirit, it has influenced me to express my creativity and use her inspiration to follow my passion for art,” Zepeda’s description of her piece reads.
The annual high school visual arts competition is sponsored each spring by the Congressional Institute to recognize and encourage artistic talent across the country and in each congressional district. This year’s local theme was “Celebrating Agriculture in the Valley.”
“The staff at Modesto High School are very excited and proud of Andrea! Andrea is a very talented and skilled, advanced artist. She has a unique, personal, and fascinating mind when it comes to her creativity,” said Debra Drake in a statement. Drake is Zepeda’s art teacher, who introduced her to the competition.
Zepeda’s piece was chosen by representatives, art judges and Congressman Adam Gray. She was selected from a pool of high school students from Merced County, Madera County, parts of Stanislaus County and Fresno.
The winning entries from each district are displayed in the Cannon Tunnel — the most highly traveled access point between the U.S. House of Representatives and the Capitol — where thousands of members of Congress, visitors, and tourists pass through daily.
“Since it was established in 1982, the Congressional Art Competition has promoted the artistic abilities of America’s next generation of creative visionaries and connected these visionaries with their representatives in the U.S. Congress,” said Congressional Institute President Kelle Strickland in a statement.
Now in its 44th year, the Congressional Art Competition remains a bipartisan highlight on the congressional calendar. The 2025 program is co-chaired by Representatives Scott Franklin and Chris Deluzio.
In summer, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol will begin the process of removing the previous year’s winning artwork and installing the new selections. The pieces are displayed in order—alphabetically by state and then numerically by congressional district. Once taken down, the previous artworks are returned to their respective congressional offices, where many continue to display them either in Washington, D.C. or in local district locations.
