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MEDINA DUGGER (b. Corpus Christi, Texas, USA) 

 

Medina is an American artist of European descent whose multidisciplinary practice spans photography, collage, painting, video, and animation. A graduate of the Spéos Photographic Institute in Paris, she spent over a decade in Lagos, Nigeria, where she worked as both artist and curator with the African Artists’ Foundation and LagosPhoto Festival.

 

This formative period shaped a practice rooted in collaboration and cultural dialogue, inspired by movements that sought to profile the nuance and overlooked stories of Nigeria and the African continent. Her works reframe diasporic aesthetics with care and contemporaneity, emerging from long-term immersion and exchange, and seek to honor and amplify African visual traditions within a global conversation on identity and contemporary art.

Medina’s practice also reflects her heritage as the daughter of political activists and authors, grounding her art in inquiry, critique, and activism. Alongside this outward critique, she has pursued ancient spiritual studies in Vedic and West African lineages, including the Dagara of Burkina Faso and the Kali tradition of northern Ghana. These explorations deepen her understanding of embodiment, ritual, and cultural wisdom, enriching the symbolic and philosophical layers of her work. 

 

Steeped in dialogue across traditions, Medina’s art positions itself as both a medium of critique and a pathway of renewal, inviting audiences to consider the transformative role of collective memory and ancient knowledge in contemporary life.

 

Exhibition history includes: Bozar Expo, Untitled Miami, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, etc. with features in Vogue, the Smithsonian Magazine & the National Geographic Magazine. Medina was awarded First Prize in the Magnum Photography Award, 2017.

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PERMANENT COLLECTIONS 

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Fitchburg Art Museum 
General Mills Private Art Collection
Fondation Zinsou, Benin
Angeline Scherf (curator Louis Vuitton Foundation, 2020)

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SOLO EXHIBITION

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2019     INVESTEC Cape Town Art Fair, Art Twenty One Gallery, solo ft. Chroma: An Ode                         to J.D. Ojeikere (Chroma)

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GROUP EXHIBITIONS

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2023     Pensiericorrenti Festival, Puglia, in Valle d’Itria, ft. Enshroud
              Inverted Safari, Manege, St Petersburg Russia, ft. Enshroud

 

2022     University of Houston, College of Arch & Design, ft. Chroma & Chromatin

 

2021     Guernsey Photography Festival, ft. Enshroud

 

2020     Fund for Global Human Rights, Face to Face, London, ft. Enshroud
              Floor One 9, Art Twenty One Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria ft. Chroma

 

2019     Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts), Berlin, ft unVeiled &                                   Queering Spaces
             Art Summit Nigeria, ft. unVeiled

 

2018    MoAD (Museum of the African Diaspora - A Smithsonian Affiliate), Digitalia San                        Francisco, ft. Chromatin
            Art Miami Catherine Edelman Gallery, ft. Chroma
            IAF Basel Basel Switzerland, ft. Chroma
            Catherine Edelman Gallery, How do you see me now? Chicago, ft. Chroma
            Voies Off Festival, Les Rencontres d’Arles, ft. Chroma
            Les Balades, Photographiques De Daoulas, France. Medina Dugger: Chroma                              (Ville de Daoulas) & J.D. Okhai Ojeikere: Hairstyles (Abbaye de Daoulas)

 

2017     LagosPhoto Festival, ft video Chromatin
            Odessa/Batumi Photo Days Festival ft. Chroma

 

2016     Bozar Expo, Dey Your Lane, Brussels, Belgium, ft. Funhouse

 

2012     LagosPhoto Festival, ft. Seven Days in the Life of Amos

 

2011     African Artists' Foundation ‘Female Artists', ft. Memory
            Spéos, Galerie Arlatino, Arles France, ft. Boxed

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PUBLICATIONS 

 

2023 MUDEC (publication by Museum of Cultures of Milan) United Rainbow. Bartering                       Hunger with Hope (featured article & text)

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2021 The National Geographic Celebrating the proud culture behind Nigerian Hairstyles,                   Print edition, July.

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2020 The Guardian UK ft. Enshroud from Face to Face exhibition, Sept.

         Europe Now Journal, Council for European Studies (CES), Enshroud, Jan.

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2019 The Guardian UK, A celebration of Muslim women in Lagos – in pictures, Nov.

         Times Literary Supplement (cover image), May.

         ze.tt A tribute to the gorgeous hairstyles of Nigerian women, May.

         Design Indaba, The African crown reimagined.

         Smithsonian Magazine In Nigeria, the Veil Is a Fashion Statement, Artist Medina Dugger           finds joy in a colorful yet complicated symbol of faith, March.

         Google Arts & Culture ft. Chromatin.

         The Art Momentum Medina Dugger: A kaleidoscope of almost audible colours, March.

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2018 Something We Africans Got, Fractales et pratiques culturelles en Afrique.

         BBC News, Chicago: Three artists challenging African-American stereotypes, Sept. 

         Chicago Tribune, Exhibition stares down portrayals of blackness in art history,                           corporate environments, Sept. 

         This is Colossal Nigerian Hair Culture Documented in Rainbow-Hued Portraits by                     Medina Dugger, Aug. 

         Art Africa ft Chromatin (cover) Issue 11, March.

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2017   Vogue This Fashion-Forward Musician Is Nigeria’s Coolest Front Row Star, Nov.

           Marie Claire South Africa, ft. Chroma, July. 

           Dazed, Beautiful photos bring ancient hair traditions to the future, July. 

           CNN Africa, June. 

           Collectible Dry Lagos is not a sleepy city, everyone here has somewhere to be pronto!

2014   The New York Times Robert Sherrill, Author Who Skewered Right and Left, Dies at 89,             Aug. 

 

CURATORIAL

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2018-2020      Co-Founder Lagos, Nigeria based company artoja.org

2017-Present  Creative Consultant/Contributing Editor Moon Man Magazine for Moon Man                             Studios, UK

2015-Present  Nominator for Prix Pictet, International Award for Photography

2011-2015        Curator, African Artists' Foundation/LagosPhoto festival, Lagos, Nigeria

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STUDIES

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2024 The Ayurvedic Institute 

          Neuroplasticity Practitioner Training

          The Art Students League of New York 

2023 Creative Wellness Service Initiative (CWSI) with the International Expressive Arts                    Therapy Association (IEATA)

2022 Certified 6th generation Usui Tibetan & Incan Q'ero Shamanic Reiki Masters 

2021  Toronto School of Art

2010  Spéos Photographic Institute, Paris France

2011   Internship with Philippe Bachelier/Sebastião Salgado, Paris France

2006 California State University Fresno, Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Employed Neonatal ICU Nurse at Valley Children's Hospital 2006-2010

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