Art has a way of bringing people together.

From original paintings and large-scale murals to curated exhibitions and community projects, my work has always centered around making art, sharing it, and connecting people to it.

Meet Tessa

Tessa Hall Duquette is an artist, muralist, curator, and arts leader based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Tessa studied Studio Art and English at the University of Vermont. After college, she spent four years working in campus events at Washington College - an early introduction to the creative work of bringing people, places, and experiences together.

After moving to Virginia Beach and starting a family, Tessa continued creating in different forms - designing and illustrating search-and-find scavenger hunts, creating custom house illustrations, and eventually building and co-running a digital marketing business.

In 2022, she returned to painting in a much bigger way when she was selected to create her first public mural as part of the ViBe Creative District's 5th Annual Mural Festival. One wall quickly grew into a large-scale mural practice. Since then, Tessa has completed more than 40 murals for businesses, schools, arts organizations, and public spaces throughout the region.

Her mural work ranges from individually commissioned pieces to large-scale collaborative projects that invite hundreds - and sometimes thousands - of people into the painting process. That same interest in art, place, and connection has increasingly shaped the rest of her work.

Today, Tessa maintains her own painting and mural practice while serving as co-founder and Executive Director of the Creative Well Arts Foundation in Virginia Beach. Through the Foundation's Garage Gallery, she curates exhibitions and works closely with artists, collectors, designers, and the broader creative community.

Her work extends beyond the gallery as co-host of CreativeMornings Virginia Beach and through projects including the Young Collectors Art Gallery at the annual Neptune Festival, where hundreds of young people are introduced to the experience of choosing and owning original artwork.

At the center of it all, Tessa remains a working artist. She continues to paint original oils, create murals, take on select commissions, curate exhibitions, and build relationships with artists throughout the region.

Increasingly, those worlds overlap—a collector searching for the right piece, a designer looking for an artist or a particular scale, a wall waiting for a mural, an exhibition taking shape, or a community ready to make something together.

Tessa's work is about making art, connecting people with art, and creating meaningful ways to experience it.

Tessa's original artwork is available for purchase, and she is available for commissions, mural projects, curatorial collaborations, and select projects in Virginia and beyond.

Art Should Be Lived With

I believe original art belongs in the places where life actually happens—on the walls of our homes, throughout our neighborhoods, inside the businesses we love, and in the spaces that bring us together.

Whether I'm painting on canvas, working across an entire wall, curating an exhibition, or helping someone discover an artist they love, I'm drawn to work that has a sense of place, personality, and connection.

If you've invited me to speak, participate in a panel or podcast, contribute to an event, or be featured in the media, you'll find an approved bio and downloadable images here for use in promoting our collaboration.

Media Kit

OFFICIAL ARTIST BIO

Tessa Hall Duquette is an artist, muralist, curator, and arts leader based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She holds a degree in Studio Art and English from the University of Vermont and has built a creative career centered around making art, connecting artists with audiences, and creating opportunities for people to experience original art.

Since painting her first public mural during the ViBe Creative District's 2022 Mural Festival, Tessa has completed more than 40 murals for businesses, schools, arts organizations, and public spaces. Her work includes both commissioned murals and large-scale participatory projects that invite communities directly into the creative process.

Tessa is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Creative Well Arts Foundation and leads its Garage Gallery, where she curates exhibitions and works closely with artists, collectors, and the creative community. She is also a co-host of CreativeMornings Virginia Beach and leads the Young Collectors Art Gallery at the annual Neptune Festival.

Alongside her mural, curatorial, and community work, Tessa maintains an active studio practice creating original oil paintings. Her work is rooted in a love of place, color, connection, and the belief that original art should be part of everyday life.

Please feel free to copy and paste this bio as written. If edits or additions are needed, please contact Tessa for approval before publication.