A classic skateboarding icon gets the First Friday treatment, Whitney Kerr returns, and more

Another first Friday, another street party. June 3, the fifth annual Crossroads Flock Party takes over the area around 19th Street and Wyandotte from 5 to 11 p.m., with free musical entertainment from Paddlefish, Warm Bodies and Be/Non.

One of the neighborhood entities contributing to the artists’ displays and collaborations at the party is Escapist Skateboarding, which at its own shop (405 Southwest Boulevard) also has a traveling show that celebrates the 30-year legacy of Jim Phillips’ Screaming Hand logo, an image synonymous with skateboard culture. Organized by Santa Cruz Skateboards, the exhibition allows 48 artists to put various spins on the icon, including John Lucero, Mark Gonzales and Benny Gold. Open 6-8 p.m. Friday and then only through the weekend, the show includes an audio tour that you can play on your smartphone.

More California in KC: Mid-America Arts Alliance (2018 Baltimore) opens Blake Little: Photographs from the Gay Rodeo (6-10 p.m.), coinciding with Kansas City PrideFest 2016 at Berkley Riverfront Park. Members of the Missouri Gay Rodeo Association will be at the gallery for First Friday, and the Los Angeles-based Little himself was 1990 Bull Riding Champion of the Year in the International Gay Rodeo Association finals. His photos capture an incredible amount of diversity in what to outsiders probably seems like a niche.

VLM Wise Gallery (2020 Baltimore) celebrates the photography of its retired co-founder John Valentine, who will be on hand from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday to sign Moments, a large-format book of his work. His artist’s statement brings up a good point: Because of smartphones, 2 billion photos are uploaded to the internet every day. That’s about 80 million shots per hour. He asks, “How many of these pictures are worthy of a second glance?” His answer is found in the earliest cave paintings, the “I was here” of the graffiti writer, and his own urge to share a particular combination of light and color and composition. Proceeds from the exhibition are being donated to PhotoArk (National Geographic fellow Joel Sartore’s documentary project to help save animals and their habitats).

Those who appreciate craft and consideration will be moved by the large-scale drawings on display at Fraction Print Studio (130 West 18th Street, in the back of Oracle). Kelly Yarbrough zooms in on the tallgrass prairie in a way that the gallery describes as defiant of any “trite characterization.”

Whitney Kerr’s Desolation Row is a new series of paintings executed on found wood, paintings of abandoned buildings or structures such as a broken-down New Orleans carousel. These documentary works convey a powerful sensitivity to the melancholy of being among lost relics of the built environment. Thanks to the Late Show gallery (1600 Cherry, 6-9 p.m.) for bringing home the work of this Memphis College of Art 2015 BFA recipient.

Two artists whose work has spent a lot of time in a literal 10-foot-by-10-foot box — the art-fair sales tent — come together to show what happens when they liberate themselves from any purpose besides sheer creation. Exploring Boundaries: A Layered Conversation fills the main gallery at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center (2012 Baltimore) with paintings by Jenny Meyer-McCall and Suze Ford, representing a year’s worth of focused work that wasn’t part of their routine commissions for corporate collections or here-and-there juried shows. See how they rise to the challenge of free expression. The public opening is from 6 to 9 p.m.

Plenum Space (504 East 18th Street) has a 6-10 p.m. reception for Michael Cimino’s Ten-Faced Children, an installation of American iconography that uses retired U.S. flags. Cimino worked with veterans’ organizations to make sure his work did not violate the U.S. Flag Code or fall into satire. His display aims to contradict what he says is the media’s typical use of the Stars and Stripes.

Front Space (217 West 18th Street) presents an installation of sculptures, found materials and drawings by 2015 Kansas City Art Institute graduate Ethan Heberer that reference ceremony. Plains Mountains and Seas Glow With You (opening reception: 6-9 p.m.) falls into the “have to see it to understand it” category, though printed show bills around town give some hints about the work. Look for the sparklers.

Jones Gallery (1717 Walnut) is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday with Start Art, a two-person exhibition featuring Cyndi West and Craig Fischer (Doq Roc).

Todd Weiner Gallery (115 West 18th Street) brings Ian Young back with more intricate, game-inspired paintings in an exhibition titled Arcadia. Also up: Absolute Chic by Christine Buchhotlz, whose work is influenced by Scandinavian design. Open 5-10 p.m.

Larissa Uredi has her first solo exhibition at Gallery 504 Crossroads (504 East 18th Street): new works on silk. The 6-10 p.m. reception also includes music by Sterling Witt.

Studios Inc. (1708 Campbell) is in the middle of its annual all-residents show and is open from 6 to 9 p.m. First Friday. The artists: Ricky Allman, Patty Carroll, Jill Downnen, Tanya E. Hartman, Miles Neidenger, Brett Reif, Hye Young Shin, Colby K Smith, Debra Smith and Gerry Trilling.