Some of Homer’s galleries take January off to remodel or take a break. For First Friday in February, galleries start to reopen. Only a few shows premiere this month, but the exhibits look to be awesome.

At Bunnell Street Arts Center, Homer artist Desiree Hagen has been doing a residency, using the gallery as a studio for an ambitious installation of her cut-paper work. Hagen has become known for her art that uses subtractive space — media cut away — to create images. Last week, Hagen sat in amidst a maelstrom of paper scraps. Artists have been joining her in Thursday workshops to help her create a sprawling mural and installation that covers several walls at Bunnell. Hagen also offers cut-paper workshops this month; see listing for details.

Continuing this month at Ptarmigan Arts is an exhibit of art with a science-fiction and fantasy theme. The show opened in January, but repeats with a reception this Friday.

At the Homer Council on the Arts, the theme is “work,” but so is the art. Craftspeople were invited to look at their work with new eyes. Could their work be considered art in itself? The show highlights a broad variety of pieces that demonstrate the creative, sometimes in what’s considered the commonplace.

From up the Kenai Peninsula, photographer Joe Kashi returns to the Kachemak Bay Campus with “Promise of Spring.” As winter advances halfway between solstice and the equinox, Kashi’s art is intended to brighten the dark days of winter.

While not art openings, the weekend also features two other art events. At 6 p.m. today at the Homer Public Library, former Anchorage Daily News cartoonist Peter Dunlap-Shohl speaks on his new graphic memoir, “My Degeneration: A Journey Through Parkinson’s.” Published by Pennsylvania State University Press, “My Degeneration” is part of its Graphic Medicine series about medical topics told in comic form. Books will be available for sale by the Homer Bookstore, and Dunlap-Shohl also will sign his book.

Following the opening of Hagen’s show at Bunnell, at 8 p.m. Friday is a showing of “A Spell,” a 90-minute film by Ben Russell and Ben Rivers. Admission is $5 for Bunnell members, $7 general admission.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.