For our earlier exhibits, click on each year:

2016 and 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

2024 EXHIBITS

"Cash & Carry XI"

"It goes up to eleven."

This year, the show's eleventh we cut 1/2"-thick MDF into 269 8" squares, 195 7" by 9" rectangles, and another 50-odd smaller rectangles (the offcuts). The panels themselves serve as the theme of the show: Artists can paint on these panels, draw on them, glue a photograph on, knit around them -- ANYTHING. The show opened with almost 400 pieces by almost 200 artists from nine central-Pennsylvania counties -- as always, broad and deep cross-section of our community. They include groups of students at Bloomsburg High School, Central Columbia Middle School, Hazleton’s Valley Middle School and Cyber Academy, and the North Branch homeschool group. Thanks to all of those schools’ art teachers for getting their students involved!

The show includes acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings; pastel and pencil drawings; collages; photographs; sculptures; fiber art; and various mixed media including bamboo, clay, and metal, among many more materials. Most panels hang on the wall; some sit or stand.

We hung the show over the weekend before Thanksgiving; prospective buyers may come in and browse before Friday, December 6th (December's First Friday and "Coming Home for Christmas"). On that Friday morning, we’ll start handing out numbers, and at 6 p.m. the person with number 1 gets to choose ONE piece; if she wants a second piece, she must take another number and go to the back of the line. Same with number 2, number 3, etc. -- each one gets to choose ONE piece the first time through.

Once the rush ends, then we open it up to as many pieces as each customer wants, but until then we keep it fair and fun. And when you pay for your piece(s), you may take the art home -- thus the “carry” party of the show's name. (We do take checks and cards, but we just like the way that “Cash & Carry” sounds.)

Every piece this year will sell for $30, with the artist receiving $24; any artist wishing to donate more or all of the proceeds to The Exchange may certainly do so.

Michael Williams, The Beauty of Bloomsburg, Exchange Gallery

Discover the charm and character of Bloomsburg, a small town nestled in the Susquehanna River Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania, through the combined talents of two local photographers, J. Michael Harding and Tina Martyniuk.

This gallery showcase captures the town’s unique spirit through a blend of unique compositions and thought-provoking descriptions. From familiar sights to quiet neighborhood moments, and from local landmarks to hidden corners known only to residents, J. Michael’s and Tina’s work highlights the deep connection between the people and the place they call home. Their shared passion for photography invites viewers to see Bloomsburg through fresh eyes, celebrating its history, heartwarming community projects, and a slower pace of small-town life as well as the continuous activities of those working to better their town -- including Tina and J. Michael themselves.

This exhibition marks the introduction of two new artistic voices to the community. Tina Martyniuk, a Ukrainian immigrant who has embraced Bloomsburg as her home, and J. Michael, who is now after five years stepping forward to reveal his true identity as J. Michael Harding, are debuting their work together. With more collaborative projects on the horizon, this is just the beginning of their journey as artists, contributing fresh perspectives of the local landscape that they hold dear to residents and tourists alike. Join them on their journey!

The show runs October 14th through November 22nd, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, November 1st, during Downtown Bloomsburg's First Friday.

"Looking Up"

Helen Keller once said, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

The Exchange asked What gives you hope? What brings you happiness? The Exchange Gallery invited artists to create artwork on the theme of happiness, optimism and/or hope. As always, we invited as many different interpretations of the theme as our community can come up with. Also as always, we accepted all media in every size up to that of our front door, and we encouraged artists of all ages and levels of experience. The show has 131 pieces -- paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, prints, crochet, and more -- by 54 artists ranging in age from five years old to 70-something; they live in eight central-Pennsylvania counties.

Image above by Gina Dignazio.

The show runs September 3rd through October 11th with a reception on September's First Friday, the 6th; for more information about First Fridays, visit DowntownBloomsburg.org/first-fridays.

Susan Fulginiti solo show

Born in Shamokin, Susan spent her childhood in Elysburg and graduated from Southern Columbia High School. She enjoyed many summers at her grandparents’ cottage on the Isle of Que, at Selinsgrove. The stories her grandmother shared about American Indians influenced her passions for Native Americans and for the natural world.

Susan didn’t go to art school: She learned to be an artist on her own. Her motivation to make art led her to experiment with many different materials, from pencils and paints to fabrics and thread. Susan enjoyed sewing, quilting, and embroidering, and she made most of her own clothing.

Susan’s love for art expanded over 55 years, and she saw her work displayed at Geisinger Medical Center and featured in an art magazine. Many of us in Bloomsburg knew Susan as an active volunteer at St. Matthew Lutheran Church and as a friendly person behind the counter at Bloomin’ Bagels II, where she worked for a quarter of a century.

Now Susan’s dream of having her art displayed in a gallery has come true!

The show runs June 22nd through August 30th, 2024, with a reception on August's First Friday, the 2nd; for more information about First Fridays, visit DowntownBloomsburg.org/first-fridays.

"Train of Thought"

“Railroad trains are such magnificent objects that we commonly mistake them for Destiny.” – E. B. White (1899-1985)

“[W[hat thrills me about trains is not their size or their equipment but the fact that they are moving, that they embody a connection between unseen places.” – Marianne Wiggins (b. 1947, Lancaster, Pa.)

“Is there anyone who has not felt the magnetic attraction of unseen cities, train whistles, the rhythmic chant of wheels on the railway tracks stretching behind you, where you came from, and before you, where you’re headed – who knows to what chance encounters and fresh hopes? Wonder about faraway places is born in us in childhood; and, with me, it never dimmed.” – Lev Kopelev (1912-1997)

We asked artists to show us their work about trains and railroading, and 33 artists from seven central-Pennsylvania counties and four additional states answered the call. As always, we accepted all media in every size up to that of our front door, and we encouraged artists of all ages and levels of experience. The show ran June 10th 29th through July 19th.

Photo above by Oren B. Helbok

"Art of the Roaring Creek Valley"

The 80-square-mile Roaring Creek watershed lies in Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland Counties; it includes the popular trails around the reservoirs in Weiser State Forest as well as the farm country surrounding Fisherdale, Mill Grove, Numidia, Slabtown -- and Knoebels. Just as we had done in the "SITEexchange" show, we asked to see artwork, in any medium, that celebrates this lovely part of our region.

25 artists from Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland Counties answered the call, with paintings, drawings, photographs, and more. The show ran April 29th through June 7th.

This show marks the first collaboration between The Exchange and the Roaring Creek Valley Conservation Association, which seeks to conserve the natural resources of the basin and its rich culture through watershed stewardship, education, and monitoring. Find out more here.

Exchange Gallery Bloomsburg, Face Value, The Portrait Show, Tiffany Shinskie image,

The Exchange Gallery's first portrait show

Portraiture has captivated viewers for centuries. In addition to likeness, portraits have the ability to convey mood, personality, and complex emotions. Whether one creates art that is true to life, abstract, conceptual, or any variety in between, The Exchange put out a call for portrait art, with all media and all styles from ALL artists welcome and with the usual rule: The work had to fit through our front door.

78 artists from 10 Pennsylvania counties responded, filling the Gallery with 176 pieces. They worked in paint, pencil, marker, clay, photography, video, mixed hardwoods, Lite Brite, and more.

The show runs March 18th through April 26th, with a reception on April's First Friday, the 5th, 5-8 p.m.

Image above: "Every Battle Shapes Her" by Tiffany Shinskie

Alex Frew has made a name for himself as a tattoo artist in our region, now working at Absinthe Tattoo in Sunbury. We first met Alex in 2015, when he walked into the Gallery and offered to show us some drawings -- and he pretty well covered the floor with dozens and dozens of them. He has entered work in a few of our exhibitions and now has a solo show that you will not want to miss.

The show runs from February 12th through March March 15th; we will have a rare Saturday reception on March 9th, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Alex says "After completing a 7-year prison sentence I was determined to hit the ground running upon making parole. I was determined to make any connections I could in the world of art. On my third day out I saw Oren in the new Exchange Gallery while walking in between tattoo parlors and asked if he wanted to see my art. He insisted that he did, so I began to lay out everything I had on the floor. I’ve met other curators for a bunch of local galleries. None were as receptive to me as Oren had been. I always try to keep an eye out for any submissions that I can make to any shows he runs. I’ve never met a stronger advocate for the arts and local community. That’s why I decided 5 years ago that I wanted to have a gallery showing when I turned 40. It was clear to me that it had to be with Oren and The Exchange."

You can read Alex's full artist's statement here and find a full catalog of the show, with Alex's descriptions of the pieces, here.

We asked artists: What does “sanctuary” mean to you? How can you depict it in artwork? As always, we accepted all media from all artists of every age and level of experience with one criterion: The work must fit through our front door. "Sanctuary" has 52 pieces by 29 artists from six central-Pennsylvania counties; they range in age from elementary school students to 80something, and they work in many media -- painting, drawing, photography, ceramics, video, and various mixed media. Their inspirations and ideas span as broad a range as their ages and backgrounds.

The show runs January 8th through February 9th, 2024, with a reception on First Friday, February 2nd -- Groundhog Day.

We present “Sanctuary” in association with Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble's show “Sanctuary City”, in which Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok delivers a powerful tale of two young DREAMers fighting for their place in the only home they've ever known. With poignant and timely storytelling, Majok’s play explores the profound sacrifices and unwavering friendship between these characters, highlighting the stakes they face when risking everything for each other.

The play comes to us as a collaboration with Bloomsburg University’s Conversations for the Common Good, an interdisciplinary, university- and community-wide movement linking students, staff, faculty, and administrators with community partners and the general public towards a single goal: to invest time, talent, and resources to promote dialogue that unites and bridges seemingly vast divides within our community.

"Sanctuary City" ran from January 18th through February 4th; for more information, click here.