Tessie Dichupa is a Filipino painter and art educator whose career bridges Philippine traditions and international contemporary practice. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines, and in the 1980s actively participated in the annual Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) exhibitions, establishing herself among the country’s emerging artists of the period.
Her works have been featured in significant exhibitions, including “Inculcation: Museum as a Nation” at the Philippine National Museum in 2006, and “Faces, Places” at the Education Summer Institute, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. She has also held solo exhibitions at the Lopez Memorial Museum (1996) and Finale Art File (2002), affirming her stature in both institutional and gallery settings.
Dichupa’s art is recognized for its expressive exploration of identity, place, and memory, often blending figurative and abstract elements with a confident use of color and form. Her contributions have been acknowledged internationally, including receiving an Award of Excellence from the Federation of Canadian Artists in Vancouver (1999).
She is also included in the book Self‑Portraits 2: Fourteen Filipina Artists Speak by Thelma Kintanar and Sylvia Mendez Ventura (Ateneo, 2004), which documents her voice among leading Filipina artists.
Through her dual role as artist and educator, Dichupa has contributed to the visibility of Filipino art both in the Philippines and abroad, affirming her place in the broader narrative of contemporary Filipino creativity.
