LIFE EXTENDED: A Retrospective of the Work of Debra Edgerton

October 24 – December 19, 2026

LIFE EXTENDED is a career retrospective of the internationally recognized Flagstaff artist and educator, Debra Edgerton. A 40-year collection of the artist’s watercolor paintings, sculptural installations, and films span issues of identity, perception, race politics, and environmental justice.

“My creative research surrounding multicultural identity compares the intersectionality of my African American and Japanese heritage and the ramifications of having parents who met during the occupation of Japan after WW2. I use narratives and visual identity troupes that express intergenerational history/trauma to deconstruct how culture informs stereotypes and how to break them through personal stories. It has been finding connections between my two cultures and building the bridge linking commonalities that has fueled the stories I tell with my art.”

Edgerton’s most recent work involves collaboration with leading biologists, scientists, and engineers on themes of water issues and sustainability, exploring how environments intersect with cultural histories to influence how people define themselves.

Debra Edgerton is an Associate Professor in the School of Art at Northern Arizona University. Achievements include as Master Status with the National Watercolor Society with Edgar A Whitney Memorial and High Wind awards, and group exhibitions internationally. Edgerton holds MFA degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute in Painting, and Vermont College in Interdisciplinary Art.

Image credit: Debra Edgerton, Life Extended, watercolor on paper, 24” x 24”