Revisiting 35 Years of an Iconic Newark Artist-Led Space
The Newark Museum of Art will mount “Dreamtime in Newark: Aljira and the Making of Global Contemporary Art,” a group exhibition examining the 35-year history of Aljira, the Newark artist-led nonprofit founded in 1983 by Guyanese artists Victor Davson and Carl E. Hazlewood. Opening October 15 and running through June 30, 2027, the show will present 66 artworks by 43 artists across 4,500 square feet, including figures such as Dawoud Bey, Firelei Báez, Jeffrey Gibson, Amiri Baraka, Emilio Cruz, Frank Bowling, Hew Locke, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. The article situates Aljira’s mission in the post-1967 Newark Rebellion context and highlights its socially engaged programming critiquing gentrification, American imperialism, and racial capitalism, including the 1987 exhibition “With and Without Acclaim: International Black and Hispanic Artists.” It also notes Aljira’s international reach, such as the 1994 “Current Identities” presentation at the International Biennial of Painting in Cuenca, Ecuador, and explains that the organization closed abruptly in 2018 amid debt following the 2008 recession, prompting Davson and Cecily Cottingham to form an archive project.
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This story was covered in Vandalized Modernism, Creatures With a Warning