THE SPRING ROUND OF ART FAIRS OPENED THIS WEEK with an air of optimism for better times. And whatever your taste in art is, there's enough to fill your weekend three times over. In geographical order, from South to North, here's what's in store. Please check websites for location, direction, and hours.

The Independent at X Initiative, 548 West 22^nd Street; Fountain Art Fair on Pier 66 at 26^th Street and West Side Highway; Pulse NY at 330 West Street, at West Houston Street; Volta NY at 7 West 34^th Street; Red Dot NY at 500 West 36^th Street, Verge Art Fair at the Dylan Hotel, 51 East 41^st Street; The Armory Show at Piers 92 and 94, enter at 52^nd Street and 12^th Avenue; Scope NY at Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center; ADDA, The Art Fair, at the Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue at 67^th Street. Shuttles between The Armory Show and Volta NY run every 20 minutes.

Above: Scenes from The Armory Show: New Art by Living Artists. Photos: Peggy Roalf.

To find out more about The Armory Show, The Art Show and the Independent, check today's New York Times Weekend Arts | Fine Arts and Leisure.