Multiple locations in Dumbo
March 3-6, free
www.vergeartfair.com
Last year, the Verge Art Fair was held in the Dylan Hotel on East 41st St., where artists and collectives got individual rooms to display their works. It had a mysterious, claustrophobic feel, like you were invading people’s private space. There’s nothing private about the 2011 Verge fair, which moves to galleries throughout Dumbo, including 81 Front St. (gallery exhibitors), 111 Front St. (“Brooklyn Art Now: 2011 Survey Exhibition”), One Main St. (panels and discussions), 55 Washington St. (“Material Issue: Art Brooklyn Artist’s Projects”), and 20 Jay St. (“Tomorrow’s Stars: Artist’s Open Call Exhibition” and “Material Issue”) as well as spilling out into the streets. Everything is free — even the opening night party at Galapagos Art Space, if you get there before 10:00, after which admission is $20; the party features live performances by Sister Anne; Not Blood, Paint; Clifton; the Brooklyn What?; Violens; Nebulla; Enoe; and M Panorama. Among the many international exhibitors are Antidote, Arch 402, Firecat Projects, MoCADA, and G2 Gallery, although the focus is on Brooklyn galleries, along with artist projects by Brooklyn Treasury, Dwight Baird, Kirk Bauer, Patrick W. Duffy, Karina Natis & Chloe Cheau, Midori Okuyama, Richard Silver, and many others. There will also be live, site-specific events, from mural painting to performance art, and the VIP Passport Program gives attendees a first look at the schedule and the opportunity to meet various artists in their studios.