Newark Museum Traces Aljira's 35-Year Legacy in Group Exhibition

The Newark Museum of Art is set to unveil "Dreamtime in Newark: Aljira and the Making of Global Contemporary Art," an exhibition that chronicles the 35-year journey of Aljira, a nonprofit space established in 1983 by Guyanese artists Victor Davson and Carl E. Hazlewood. This exhibition, which opens on October 15 and continues until June 30, 2027, showcases 66 pieces from 43 artists supported by Aljira, such as Dawoud Bey, Firelei Báez, and Amiri Baraka. Aljira was founded following the 1967 Newark Rebellion and the launch of Newark's first Black-owned gallery, Aard Studio Gallery, in 1972. The space, named after an Aboriginal term for "dreamtime," advocated for socially engaged art addressing issues like gentrification and racial capitalism. It closed in 2018 due to financial struggles post-2008 recession, and Davson, along with artist Cecily Cottingham, now oversees an archive project. Guest curator Alliyah Allen assisted with the catalog, while Jeffrey Gibson reflected on Aljira's Emerge program's influence on the New York art landscape.