ArtDC: A First for Washington

"People of Washington: We come in peace!"

Okay, that's not really what the guy standing on the catwalk over the bar at Georgetown's Mat? lounge was saying on this rainy night in March. Still, judging from the expressions of "The Day the Earth Stood Still"-style bemusement on the faces in the befuddled crowd assembled below, he might as well have been an alien.

What he was promoting certainly is.

That's because he was talking about ArtDC, Washington's first modern and contemporary art fair, Friday through Monday at the Washington Convention Center. Kind of like a house and garden show -- but with booths staffed by gallerists instead of contractors and decorators, and stocked with art instead of samples of vinyl siding -- ArtDC is the city's first foray into the art-fair craze that has seemingly cropped up everywhere else on the planet but here. Representatives from numerous local galleries, museums and nonprofit art spaces will attend, along with emissaries from galleries as far away as Beijing.

Judging by my own (albeit limited) experience with New York's art fairs, you can probably expect as much schmoozing as selling. Let's face it: These things are as much about networking as marketing. Nevertheless, for those who want to look at lots of art under one roof, and without having to use up all your frequent-flier miles, this may be just your ticket.

ARTDC Through Monday. Washington Convention Center (Hall E), 801 Mount Vernon Pl. NW (Metro: Mount Vernon Square/Seventh Street/Convention Center). 202-249-4219.http://www.dc-artfair.com. Open Friday-Sunday 11-7; Monday 11-5. $12; seniors and students $5; groups of 10 or more $9; children younger than 12 free. On Friday, admission is free.

Public programs associated with the fair include:

Saturday at 1 Panel discussion: "Art and Design in the Modern World."

Saturday at 3 Panel discussion: "Examining the Collecting Mystique: Passion or Duty or Self-Indulgence?"

Saturday at 5 Round-table discussion: "Chinese Contemporary Art: A Chinese Perspective."

Sunday at 1 Panel discussion: "New Media: Explorations and Innovations."

Sunday at 3 Panel Discussion: "Then and Now: At Play in the Color Field."

While you're in the neighborhood, check out "Supple" and "No Representation (Abstraction in the Capital)." Just across the street from the convention center, the two art exhibitions are not affiliated with ArtDC but are clearly hoping to piggyback on it. Both run through May 12 at the Warehouse Arts Complex, 1021 Seventh St. NW. 202-783-3933.http://www.warehousetheater.com/gallery.php. Open Monday-Friday 5-11; Saturdays noon to midnight; Sundays noon to 6. Free.