​​

MDINA (b. Corpus Christi, Texas, USA) 

 

MDINA (Medina Sage Dugger) is a multidisciplinary artist from New Mexico, USA, whose creative practice is deeply informed by her heritage as a member of a family of political activists and authors. A graduate of the Spéos Photographic Institute in Paris, Mdina’s artistic journey has traversed continents, beginning with a decade in Lagos, Nigeria, where she served as an artist and curator for the African Artists’ Foundation & LagosPhoto Festival. Mdina’s work is a synthesis of photography, collage, painting, video, and animation. She explores the intersection of contemporary cultural themes with ancient traditions/technologies and the role cultural wisdom plays in shaping identity and collective wellness. Her years on the African continent were formative, inspiring her to challenge reductive stereotypes and highlight the beauty and complexity of cultural traditions.

​

Recently, Mdina has turned her lens toward global challenges, incorporating symbols, text, and slogans into her photography to reflect on pressing issues such as political polarization, emotional and spiritual crises, corporate overreach, modern propaganda, and threats to freedom of speech. Her practice bridges personal healing and collective activism, emphasizing the potential of indigenous and ancient wisdom to address modern societal fractures.

​

In addition to her artistic practice, Mdina has begun studying Ayurveda under renowned
surgeon & Ayurvedic practitioner Dr. Vasant Lad. This exploration of one of the world’s oldest healing systems enriches her work by deepening her understanding of the
interconnectedness of life. Ayurvedic principles and its elemental philosophy inspire her visual language, furthering her exploration of the body, tradition, and spiritual alignment as forms of resistance and renewal. Steeped in inquiry, tradition, and transformation, Mdina’s work invites audiences to consider art as a pathway to healing, as well as a medium of critique and exploration.

 

Mdina’s exhibited at Bozar Expo, Untitled Miami, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, etc. with features in Vogue, the Smithsonian Magazine & the National Geographic Magazine. She was awarded First Prize in the Magnum Photography Award, 2017.

​​

 

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS 

​

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

​

 

SOLO EXHIBITION

​

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

​

​

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

​

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

​
 

PUBLICATIONS 

 

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

​

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

​

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

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

​

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.

​

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.

​

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

​

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

​

STUDIES

​​

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

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​