March’s First Friday adds an art fair to the evening’s gallery rounds.

Artist April McAnerny, co-director of the Main Street gallery and founder of the Slap-n-Tickle gallery in the East Crossroads, is turning the west end of the gallery’s building at 504 E. 18th St. into a monthly showcase for artists and entrepreneurs.

The new Locust Factory First Friday Art Fair will fill the 3,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by the Locust Factory gallery and studio spaces.

From 6 to 9 p.m. on First Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on first Saturdays, you can view a selection of works and wares by ceramicists, photographers, floral designers and other artists and vendors.

Recently McAnerny held a benefit auction in the space to help with a child’s medical expenses.

“I put the word out to people in the auction and spread the word through Facebook,” she said. “The artists have to go through a submission process to be accepted. I want high-quality work.”

Art fair participants pay $50 for 6 feet of table or wall space for those two days, McAnerny said. “We don’t take commission. It’s all artist run.”

The first fair will feature Hitched Wedding & Events, which will have a table displaying floral arrangements and information about their business. The Kansas City Academy also will have a table and wall space with student work, McAnerny said.

Participants include ceramic artists Erick Bachmann and Mike Cerv, photographer Sadie Jane and painters Ben McCarthy and Betsy Barrat. Chris LaValley will show mixed-media collages.

McAnerny, a 1991 graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, says the fair “is perfect for new artists — high school, college or anyone who has never shown their art — in that they can learn the submission process, how best to present and display their work and get feedback from the public and learn how to discuss their work with the public.”

“This will help prepare them for submitting and showing at larger galleries,” she said. “I have a background in teaching art and after almost seven years in the gallery business, I am quite adept at holding their hand through the whole process in a kind and generous manner that they may not receive at other galleries.”

“It’s also,” she said, “a fabulous opportunity for entrepreneurs and local small businesses to reach a wider audience and test out their products.”

McAnerny plans for the fair to be a monthly event featuring 10 to 20 participants.

“I have a face painter wanting to come and several other photographers and ceramic artists. Sazzy’s lingerie is hoping to become involved,” she said.

Kate E. Burke of the Honeytree Gallery is helping McAnerny with the project, and Honeytree, Tickle and Plenum Space, which all share the building, also will be open on First Saturday afternoons, she said.

By adding responsibility for the monthly art fair to her duties at the Slap-n-Tickle and Main Street Gallery, McAnerny, who had been making ends meet by painting houses and doing faux finishing, hopes to make art her full-time job.

“I’ve been running the Slap-n-Tickle for six and a half years. Main Street opened last fall, now I’m launching this,” she said. “It’s all commission-based sales.”

LaToya Ruby Frazier at Nelson-Atkins

First Friday goers may want to make their first stop of the evening the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, where renowned American photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier will speak at 6 p.m.

Frazier, who showed in the 2012 Whitney Biennial and the 2009 triennial, “Younger Than Jesus,” at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, is known for her social documentary work, most notably a series of searing images about the decline of her hometown of Braddock, Penn.

Frazier tells a story of our times.

As summarized by the Whitney Museum, “Exposing the underbelly of corporate practices — rapid de-industrialization and outsourcing, environmental negligence and inner-city gentrification — Frazier’s work examines the crises of postindustrial communities and the class divisions wrought by capital.”

This spring, Frazier will have a one-person show at the Brooklyn Museum.

Admission to her lecture, which will be in Atkins Auditorium, is free but tickets are required and can be reserved. Call 816-751-1278 or go to nelson-atkins.org.

To reach art critic Alice Thorson, call 816.234.4763 or email athorson@kcstar.com.

14 places to see art on First Friday

At the galleries, look for a preponderance of big works in many shows, including Mike Lyon’s “New Drawings” at Sherry Leedy, Clint Metcalf’s abstract paintings at the Slap-n-Tickle Gallery and a 5-1/2 by 6-foot work on paper by Malory Ward at The Late Show.

Blue Djinn Gallery

“Sid Laser”

When: Friday (reception 6-9 p.m.) through March 30.

Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Where: 1400 Union Ave.

Info: 816.518.4649

Blue Gallery

March group exhibition

When: Friday (reception 7-9 p.m.) through March 30.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and by appointment

Where: 118 Southwest Blvd.

Info: 816.527.0823

City Ice Arts

“365 + one: Photography by Fred Trease”

When: Friday (reception 6-9 p.m.) through April 13.

Hours: 2-6 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and by appointment

Where: 2015 Campbell St.

Info: 816.820.4105

Hilliard Gallery

“A Touch of Spring: Group Show”

When: Friday (reception 6-10 p.m.) through March 28.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon- 4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment

Where: 1820 McGee St.

Info: 816.561.2956

Kemper at the Crossroads

“Be Inspired!”

When: Through June 7. Conversation with Bo Joseph at 6 p.m. Friday.

Hours: Noon-10 p.m. on First Friday

Where: 33 W. 19th St.

Info: 816.753.5784

Larson Binkley

“Courtney Kenny: Look Again”

When: Friday (reception 6- 9 p.m.) through March 29.

Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: 310 W. 20th St.

Info: 402.250.4973

The Late Show

“The New Kids on the Block”

When: Friday (reception 6-10 p.m.) through March 30.

Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and by appointment

Where: 1600 Cherry St.

Info: 816.474.1300

Leedy-Voulkos Art Center

“Ada Koch-La Piazza: Praising Architecture and a Balanced Life”

“Michael Stack: Eagleman and 9/11 Series”

“Vanishing Circles: Portraits of Disappearing Wildlife of the Sonoran Desert Region” and “The Art of a Desert Recluse by Sheridan Oman (c.1926-1996),” two shows presented by the Arizona Sonora-Desert Museum

When: Friday (reception 6-9 p. m.) through April 27. Museum shows close April 26. “Cheryl Gail Toh: Linger Still” continues through March 30.

Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday

Where: 2012 Baltimore Ave.

Info: 816.474.1919

Locust Factory First Friday Art Fair

Various artists and vendors

When: 6-9 p.m. Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday

Where: 504. E. 18th St.

I nfo: 816.716.5940

Main Street Gallery

“Triple Play: Landscapes by Debra Payne, Diana Werts and Carol Zastoupil”

When: Friday (reception 6-9 p.m. Friday) through March 29

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Sunday

Where: 1610 Main St. (upstairs at Anton’s Tap Room & Restaurant)

Info: 816.210.6534

Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery

“Artifacts of Immigration”

When: Through March 22. Second reception 6-9 p.m. Friday.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Where: 915 W. 17th St.

Info: 816.221.2349

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Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art

“Caleb Taylor: Near/Far”

“Mike Lyon: New Drawings”

When: Friday (reception 7-9 p.m.) through April 27

Hours: 11 a.m.-5p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Where: 2004 Baltimore Ave.

Info: 816.221.2626

** Slap-n-Tickle Gallery

“Vibes: Past & Present Paintings by Clint Metcalf”

When: Friday (reception 6-11 p.m.) through March 17

Hours: Noon-4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment

Where: 504 E. 18th St.

Info: 816.716.5940

Todd Weiner Gallery

Art Madness Group Show

When: Friday (reception 5-9 p.m.) through April 1

Hours: 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday

Where: 115 W. 18th St., Suite 101

Info: 816.984.8538