Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art was an artist-centered space in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, United States founded in 1983, designated a Major Arts Organization by New Jersey's State Council on the Arts.
Aljira displayed the work of both established and emerging or under-represented artists. The center also sold books, fine art and prints through an online store, and held an auction of fine art each spring. Its name, an Australian Aboriginal word for
dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
, was intended to suggest timelessness and open possibilities. In 1993, Aljira was chosen by the Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions to organize the U.S. representation at the
IV Bienal Internacional de Pintura in
Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca, officially Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca, is an Ecuadorian city, head of the Cuenca Canton, canton of the same name and capital of the Azuay Province, province of Azuay, as well as its largest and most populated city. It is crossed by t ...
. The center held an annual program, ''Aljira Emerge'', to prepare artists for the marketplace; its initial focus on painting expanded to sculpture, installation and video art.
Its tenth show in 2009, ''E10'', featured 22 active artists based in the northeast United States.
Aljira closed in 2018 amid financing difficulties.
See also
*
CWOW Gallery
*
Newark Museum
References
External links
*
*https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084327/http://blog.nj.com/newarkguide_impact/2007/10/ArtWalkx.pdf
*https://web.archive.org/web/20140714161656/http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/new-jersey/66921-trenton-exhibit-highlights-newarks-growing-arts-scene
{{authority control
Contemporary art galleries in the United States
Culture of Newark, New Jersey
Tourist attractions in Newark, New Jersey
Art museums and galleries in New Jersey
Art museums and galleries established in 1991
1991 establishments in New Jersey
Buildings and structures in Newark, New Jersey