Two Traveling Exhibitions Closing Soon!

Split image showing two artworks. On the left, a Photo by Kyle Knox - Gila River Indian Community District 7 showing landscape with still reflective water, tall grasses, desert shrubs, and a cloudy blue sky, part of the Su:Dagi/Shu:Thag exhibition. On the right, a close-up section of a watercolor painting from Debra Edgerton’s 'Life Extended' series, resembling a microscope slide with overlapping green and yellow plant-like forms, displayed in the Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest exhibition.

May 18, 2026

As summer approaches, the S’edav Va’aki Museum is preparing to close two traveling exhibitions! In just two short weeks, Su:Dagi/ Shu:thag Rekindling Our Connections will have its last day open to the public on June 1^st, 2026. Then later this summer, Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest will close to the public on July 20^th, 2026.

No need to worry, there is still plenty of time to experience everything these exhibitions have to offer!

Su:dagi/Shu:thag: Rekindling Our Connections examines the Akimel O’odham’s (River People) longstanding relationship with water and focuses on the intersection between the politics of water rights and the celebration of traditional agricultural knowledge.

Su:dagi/Shu:thag invites the viewer to take a journey regarding the history of Akimel O’odham’s relationship with water. The exhibit begins with the Huhugam, Ancestral O’odham, that started it all by making the Salt River Valley habitable through their expertise in canal systems and irrigation agriculture. Then it transitions to ongoing battles in water rights litigations resulting from the challenges of modernity. The exhibit concludes with a hopeful look towards the future as younger generations of Akimel O’odham promote healing in their communities by embodying stewardship for traditional knowledge and maintaining their cultural connection to water.

A Photo by Kyle Knox - Gila River Indian Community District 7 showing landscape with still reflective water, tall grasses, desert shrubs, and a cloudy blue sky, part of the Su:Dagi/Shu:Thag exhibition. — Photo by Kyle Knox - Gila River Indian Community District 7. A photo showing a pocket of lush greenery along the Gila River, plants and cloudy blue skies reflecting on the waters. This piece will be on display in the Su:dagi/Shu:thag exhibition.

Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest utilizes art informed by scientific and cultural inquiry to explore the deep disparities of water use and access throughout the state of Arizona. Coming at a time where conversations about the availability and quality of, and access to, water have never been more important. After three years of public display, the Parched exhibition finds a new home at S’edav Va’aki Museum. Serving as a call-to-action, Parched features nine bodies of work all using different mediums evoking themes of survivance, sovereignty, and spirituality. Ultimately reflecting diverse perspectives and provocative insights into our complex relationship with water in natural, cultural, and political landscapes.

This exhibition expands the viewers understanding of water by highlighting its deep cultural significance while juxtaposed by the controversies surrounding the fact that Indigenous communities have little to no access to the water that is pumped and piped out of their own lands.

Photo of one watercolor on paper piece from the artwork series "Life Extended" by Debra Edgerton simulating a microscope slide with plant in water specimens., currently on display in the *Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest* exhibtion.

The last installment of the Parched: Speaker Series is also coming soon! On June 11th, 2026 at 6:00PM in the Community Room, SVM is hosting a very special FREE guest lecture featuring, Debra Edgerton, the artist behind Life Extended, a series of watercolor paintings key to Parched exhibition.