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Thursday, 03 March 2011 03:13

Armory Week 2011 Preview: The Smaller Fairs

Artists Space brought a DeLorean to last year's inaugural Independent. Artists Space brought a DeLorean to last year's inaugural Independent.

As promised, following our run-down earlier this morning of the bigger art fairs hanging up their wares on New York City walls this Armory Week, let's take a look at the smaller, more manageable (and often free) art fairs at which you could also spend you week.

Verge Art Brooklyn: Finally, an Armory Week fair in Brooklyn! Not only that, but totally free Thursday through Sunday, too. Every vacant commercial space in Dumbo, it seems, is being optioned for Art Brooklyn, which will have its main exhibitor space at 81 Front Street, with a survey of Brooklyn artists curated by James Kalm on the second floor of 111 Front Street (alongside all those galleries' ongoing exhibitions), and artists' projects at 55 Washington Street and 20 Jay Street.

Independent: This collaboration between Chelsea gallerist Elizabeth Dee and Darren Flook of London gallery Hotel first took over the former Dia building at 548 West 22nd Street last year, and it was definitely the highlight of Armory Week. The sophomore Independent runs Thursday through Sunday and it's free again, with an expanded roster of almost 50 international galleries and non-profits presenting site-specific installations by their artists. Another difference this year is that that parts of the massive building have been sliced up into smaller galleries, so there probably won't be that awesome ground-floor lounge with the Rirkrit Tiravanija ping pong table. But maybe they'll open up the stunning roof deck again.

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