[1] Aljira displayed the work of both established and emerging or under-represented artists.

[3] Its name, an Australian Aboriginal word for dreamtime, 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.

[4] 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.