Photo: front gate, ABC No Rio

ABC No Rio is a community arts center on Manhattan's Lower East Side. It was founded in 1980 shortly after a group of artists broke into an abandoned building to mount an exhibition protesting skyrocketing rents. It's a place to check out art that's not on most tourist radars: Its four floors house a gallery/performance space, silkscreen shop, b&w photo darkroom, computer center and zine library. Every 2 years, there is a building-wide exhibition--the Ides of March--with over 80 artists transforming all four floors (this year: 3/14 to 4/4),