March roars in with plenty of art events

Many art galleries in and around Philadelphia stay open later on the first Friday of the month. Here's a rundown of gallery and arts events tonight and for the next few weeks.

102.9 WMGK Classic Rock Art Show. Suburban Square, 65 St. James Place, Ardmore. 11th-annual sale of rock-musician/artists' work and show photos. Benefits Little Steven Van Zandt's Rock and Roll Forever Foundation. March 11-27. Gary Sohmers (PBS' "Antiques Roadshow") will appraise your rock memorabilia and showcase his own, March 18-20.

A Seed on Diamond Gallery. 124 W. Diamond St., 267-973-5242. "La Caja de la Memoria Viva (The Box of Living Memory)," multimedia exhibit by Brooklyn-based Puerto Rican artist Adrian "Viajero" Roman. March 12-April 9. Closing-day event, "Post Cards of our Barrios."

Arthur Ross Gallery. 220 S. 34th St., 215-898-2083. "Post-Mao Dreaming: Contemporary Chinese Art," through April 3.

AxD Gallery. 265 S. 10th St., 215-627-6250. Douglas Witmer, "Fruitville/The School Papers." Through April 2. Artist talk, 3:30 p.m. March 19.

Fleisher/Ollman Gallery. 1616 Walnut St., 215-545-7562. Bill Walton. Through March 26.

Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design. 20th Street and the Parkway, 215-965-4027. "Mel Kadel: Spacing Awake," drawings. "Jenny Drumgoole: Real Woman of Philadelphia," multimedia. "Frances Trombly: Everything and Nothing," sculpture. Through March 15.

LGTripp Gallery. 47-49 N. 2nd St., 215-923-3110. "Painters Don't Retire," works by artists 70+. Through March 26. Reception 6-8:30 tonight; artist reception 4-6 p.m. tomorrow.

Locks Gallery. 600 Washington Square South, 215-629-1000. "The Home Front: Jane Irish's Art of War," through March 12. Elizabeth Osborne, new work, through March 30; reception 5:30-7:30 tonight.

Manayunk Roxborough Art Center. 419 Green Lane, 215-482-3363. Mike Muir, "Eclectic Inspirations." Through March 27. Reception noon-3 p.m. Sunday.

Muse Gallery. 52 N. 2nd St., 215-627-5310. "out there," Bonnie Gross. Through March 27. Reception 5-8 tonight and 3-5 p.m. March 13.

Pentimenti Gallery. 145 N. 2nd St., 215-625-9990. Kevin Finklea, "Things we said that were important but now forgotten." Michelle Forsyth, "After." Through April 9.

Philadelphia Art Alliance. 251 S. 18th St., 215-545-4302. "Kickin' Back," juried show on designs for leisure, in collaboration with Andrew Dahlgren. Solo exhibitions by Dylan Beck and Diane Pepe. Through March 25.

Projects Gallery. 629 N. 2nd St., 267-303-9652. "Little Treasures - Big Rewards," various artists working in small formats. Through March 26. Reception 5-9 tonight.

Rodger LaPelle Galleries. 122 N. 3rd St., 215-592-0232. "The Eyes of March," group show. March 11-31.

Sande Webster Gallery. 2006 Walnut St., 215-636-9003. Lee Lippman, "Places & People." "Dimensions," a group show. Through March 26. Reception 6-8 p.m. March 11.

Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. 8480 Hagy's Mill Road, 215-482-7300. "The Natural History of My Backyard: Mixed Media Works on Paper," MF Cardamone. March 19-May 8. Reception 4-6 p.m. March 19.

St. Asaph Gallery. 27 Conshohocken State Road, Bala Cynwyd, 610-664-0966. Piety Choi, acrylic and mixed media. Through March 13.

3rd Street Gallery. 58 N. 2nd St., 215-625-0993. Rhea Dennis, "Mind Wandering." Al Wachlin Jr., "Retrospective: 10 Years with the Light Room." Through March 27. Reception 5-9 tonight and 1-4 p.m. March 20.

Vox Populi. 319 N. 11th St., 215-238-1253. Stefan Abrams, "The Origin of the World." Christian Herr, "Keystone States." Leticia Bajuyo and Joshua Hamilton, "Wow and Flutter: Revolutions in coded, de-coded, re-coded memory," curated by Joey Yates. Linda Yun, "Recall." At Fourth Wall, Jumana Manna, "Blessed Blessed Oblivion," curated by Elisabeth Subrin. Through March 27. Reception 6-11 tonight.

Submit First Friday listings to Laurie Conrad by e-mail

(conradl@phillynews.com) or mail (400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130). The April deadline is March 25.