Operation Harmony by Dutch artist Fockert de Jong at James Cohan Gallery, 533 West 26th Street, NY, NY. Photos: Peggy Roalf.

Wednesday, May 4—Saturday, May 7: Festival of Ideas for the New City - a major new initiative involving 200+ Downtown organizations working together to effect change. The Festival will include a three-day conference; an innovative StreetFest along the Bowery; and more than 100 independent projects and public events. For a complete schedule of events, visit festivalofideasnyc.com. Information.

Wednesday, May 4

Book Launch party, 7-9 pm, for Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina – “Tenth Anniversary Edition” – by David Hajdu. Join the author in conversation with Robert Polito at powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY. Drikns will be served. Please RSVP.

The Vera List Center for Art and Politics presents New York Stories: Working with Sol. 6:30-8:30. The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, Y, NY. $10 or $20 for series of three talks. Information.

Panel Discussion, 6:30 pm: Speculatively Speaking – The Future of Design Criticism with Paola Antonelli (MoMA Senior Curator of Design and Architecture), Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, Fast Company Senior Editor Linda Tischler among others. SVA Theater, 333 West 23rd Street, NY, NY. Free.

Artist Talk: With Food in Mind. A conversation with Nicole Caruth, Heather Hart, Elaine Tin Nyo, Maya Suess, and Tattfoo Tan. The Center for Book Arts, 28 W. 27th St, 3rd Floor, NY, NY. $5/$10.

Opening reception, 5:30-8:30, for Ron Hamad: Surrender. Robin Rice Gallery, 325 West 11th Street, NY, NY.

Book signing and reception, 5:30-7pm, for My Dolce Vita: A Memoir (Glitterati 20011) by Jean Govoni Salvador, with a Foreword by Pamela Fiori. Rizzoli Bookstore, 31 West 57th Street, NY, NY.

Thursday, May 5-Sunday, May 8: The Affordable Art Fair. Discover and buy works of art from today's hottest young talents and well-known names alike. With works priced from $100 to $10,000, AAF has something for everyone, from the art-savvy collector to the first-time buyer. 7 West 34th Street, NY, NY. Join Aperture Foundation for a series of talks on Collecting Photography.

Thursday, May 5

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Barry Frydlender: Travelogue in Pictures. Andrea Meislin Gallery, 526 West 26th Street #214, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Karen Gunderson: Constellations, Moons, and Water and Monika Merva: The City of Children. ClampArt Gallery, 521-531 West 25th Street, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Tim MacGuire. Von Lintel Gallery, 520 West 23rd Street, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8pm, for Caleb Charland: Fathom and Fray. Michael Mazzeo Gallery. New address: 508 West 26th Street, Suite 318, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8pm, for Sonya Blesofsky: Tenement. Mixed Greens, 531 West 26th Street, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Works on Paper/Chad Kleitsch in conversation with new writing by Tim Davis. Camera Club of New York, 336 West 37th Street, Suite 206, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 7-9 pm, for Gina LeVay: Bull Fight. Hous Projects, 31 Howard Street, 2nd Floor, NY, NY.

The Vera List Center for Art and Politics presents a roundtable discussion about Coney Island. Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design, 2 West 13th Street at 5th Avenue, NY, NY. Information.

Friday, May 6

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Donald Judd. David Zwirner Gallery, 525 West 19th Street, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Martin Kippenberger: I Had A Vision. Luhring Augustine Gallery, 531 West 24th Street, NY, NY.

Book Arts Lounge: Artist + Publisher + Artisan wit Laurel Parker on creating a special edition book book in a collaborative setting. The Center for Book Arts, 28 W. 27th St, 3rd Floor, NY, NY. $5/$10.

Saturday, May 7-Monday, May 23: The Parsons Festival, will present its first art and design festival, with more than 100 public events  taking place across its campus and around the city from May 723, 2011. A  daylong block party on May 21 will feature a printmaking jam, an interactive  fashion photo booth, and musical performances. Information.

Saturday, May 7

El Barrio Today: Walking tour at 11:30am. Departs from El Museo del Barrio lobby, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street, NY, NY. Free admission with RSVP.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Kammeropolis: An Installation by Daimon Marchand. Alix Sloane Fine Art, 128 Rivington Street, NY, NY.

Talk and book signing, at 1:30 and 3:30 pm, with Lynn Goldsmith in conjunction with her exhibition and book, Within A Circle of Friends. Morrison Hotel Gallery, 313 Bowery, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Matt Keegan. D’Amelio Terra, 525 West 25th Street, NY, NY. Save the date: Friday, May 13th, 6:30 pm for a discussion on the contemporary geographies of the city with Thomas McDonough and Reinhold Martin.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Christoph Draeger: Breaking the Wave. Y Gallery, 165 Orchard Street, NY, NY.

Sunday, May 8

Opening reception, 2-6 pm, for Vista: Sculptures by Ivan Argote, Jillian Conrad, Priscila de Carvalho, Blane de St. Croix, Michael Clyde Johnson, Leif Low-beer, Steven Millar, Slinko, Howie Sneider, Rob Swainston, Jason Tomme. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Debo Eilers: In your house. X. On Stellar Rays, 133 Orchard Street, NY, NY.

Opening reception, 6-8 pm, for Michael Williams: Straightforward as a Noodle. Canada, 55 Chrystie Street (between Hester and Canal), NY, NY.

Monday, May 9, 8:00 pm: Mas Films, Aperture, and The New School present a screening of Somewhere to Disappear and a Q&A with Alec Soth. In conjunction with the Parsons Festival. Tishman Auditorium. 66 West 12th Street, NY, NY. FREE. View the TRAILER.

Tuesday, May 10

Craig Ward: Type With Teeth, 6-8pm. Type Directors Club, 347 West 36th Street, #603, NY, NY. RSVP. Free/$15/$20.

Looking ahead: The 4th annual New York Photo Festival 2011 takes place May 11-15, and will fill the Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood of DUMBO with over 3,000 photographs and present over 40 events across 11 venues. This year’s main exhibitions, curated by Enrico Bossan and Elisabeth Biondi, are presented under the shared rubric PHOTOGRAPHY NOW: engaged, personal, and vital. They offer distinct perspectives on a shared theme: the state of documentary photography today. Information.

This Week’s DART Pick: The Unknown Hipster, just back from London, tells of his experience at the Royal Wedding.