Cuthy Mede grew up on Likoma Island, where he drew in the rough sands of the beach as a child. Later he studied Fine Art in Chancellor College and became a lecturer at the College in the 1970s. By the 1980s Mede established Gallerie Africaine in Lilongwe City Centre, the first art gallery by a local artist in Malawi. Mede exhibited his work widely in Malawi, becoming a successful artist selling his work to international collectors. He also brought fine art work from other Malawian artists into his Gallery. Mede is best known for his modern art styles: modern, futurist, cubist and pointillist, with strong local themes. His paintings depicted local people, historic events and current events in Malawi, Biblical references with local interpretations, indigenous religious expressions, and paintings about ideas such as Justice, Greed, Man and Machine. His paintings depict famine, refugees from Mozambique during the Civil War, voting and democracy, wedding celebration, spirits and possession, and the Nyau masquerade.