Calls for Entry
Most Exchange Gallery shows include work by artists young and old, established and up-and-coming, professional and amateur, from throughout the Susquehanna River Valley -- everyone from Bloomsburg University art students and professors to regional high school students to pre-schoolers, people who have exhibited nationally to those showing their work for the first time. Please check here regularly for information on upcoming open-call shows.
"What I Did In Quarantine", 2021
Unless noted, it costs nothing to enter our shows, and we have only one rule: The work must fit through the Gallery's front door. We encourage artists to put their work for sale; they receive 80% of the sale price and the Gallery retains 20% to help keep our light on.
When you bring your work to the Gallery, please have one of these forms filled out. (If you cannot print it ahead of time, we will have them here for you.)
We also occasionally make a video about the work in a show, and we would like to include artists speaking about their work. If you can make your own short video clip, please e-mail it to us at Exchange@ExchangeArts.org; you may also e-mail us a self-portrait/headshot and an artist's statement.
The Exchange coordinates rotating exhibits at other venues too: the Bloomsburg Public Library on Market Street and the Silk Mill Apartments on 6th Street; in both locations, work changes quarterly. For information about how you can show your artwork at either of them, contact us at 570-317-2596 or Exchange@ExchangeArts.org. See below for photos of some of the spaces available at the Library.
The Calls
Coming in 2023:
In-Fill PA open call
Work due April 19th
Show runs at the Exchange Gallery May 8th through June 9th
Dates at other venues TBD
IN-FILL PA is a public art project conceived and produced by Cindi Hron and The Exchange Gallery. Thanks to the Community Giving Foundation and to the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for funding.
IN-FILL PA wants YOU to participate in an exhibit of designs for in-fill spaces.
IN-FILL PA seeks to engage residents, artists, designers, and design firms from all over to share their work to inspire engaged dialogue to address in-fill spaces in communities across Pennsylvania.
IN-FILL PA participants are asked to submit hard copies or PDFs of drawings, graphics, photo-collages, plans, and 2-D models of concept designs and implemented projects that address in-fill spaces. Before and after imagery is welcome as well as images that illustrate the process of in-fill space transformation.
IN-FILL PA will take place during the spring of 2023: The submitted designs will be on display at the Exchange Gallery in Bloomsburg and five additional regional exhibition venues located in Central Pennsylvania. Each exhibition site will further highlight local in-fill projects and conduct informal public charettes to encourage discourse to address in-fill design and program needs in these communities.
IN-FILL PA seeks submissions from near and far, across Pennsylvania and around the U.S. and around the world.
Project Background:
In-fill is the practice of re-dedication of land to new programming and/or development. Many small towns and cities in Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, have vacant lots. Often these lots sit unused for years. In some instances, communities have reassigned these spaces as outdoor amenities such as pocket parks, playgrounds, community gardens, outdoor workspaces, meditation gardens, and performance venues. These transitions breathe new life into underutilized spaces.
Questions? Contact Oren Helbok, 570-317-2596, Exchange@ExchangeArts.org
Deadline for Submission: April 19th, 2023
Send hard copies to The Exchange Gallery, 24 East Main Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815
Participants wishing to have their work returned need to include pre-paid mailers.
Or submit PDFs (each 10mb max) to Exchange@ExchangeArts.org.
Please fill out the submission form and mail or e-mail it with your entry.
Exhibition schedule:
The Exchange Gallery, 24 East Main Street, Bloomsburg
May 8 – June 9, 2023
Gallery reception, Friday, May 12th
Community charrette downtown (location[s] TBA), Saturday, May 13th (rain date, May 14th)
The Art Grind, 339 Mill Street, Danville
May 11– June 3, 2023
Reception and community charrette dates TBA
Berwick venue and dates TBA
Mark Sassani solo show
Show runs June 12th through July 21st
Reception Sunday, July 16th, 2-5 p.m.
Mark is a native of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. A lifetime interest in art became the foundation for his education that enhanced his skills, his teaching, and his career as a professional artist. A graduate of Mount Carmel Area High School, he studied art at Mansfield University and then returned to his hometown to teach art at Mount Carmel High School. There he guided thousands of students in exploring their artistic interests. Through this mentoring role, he was exposed to a broad variety of media and forms of expression, becoming a more well-rounded artist himself.
In his professional career, he worked in a wide range of drawing and painting media, and he also honed his skills in art restoration.
During his years as a student, and throughout his professional career Mark has earned numerous awards for his work. His fine-art expression consists mainly of colorful landscapes of east-central and northern-tier Pennsylvania. Play of light, color, compositional movement, balance and beauty are essential to his art.
Along with his easel work, he has completed a large number of commissioned works and art restorations for churches, private corporations, and individuals.
Find out more at MarkSassani.com.
Images above courtesy of Mark Sassani
Susquehanna Women’s Imaging Society
Work due Saturday, September 2nd
Show runs Tuesday, September 5th, through Friday, October 13th
Show theme: "Primary Colors"; more info to come
“Food for Thought” open call
Work due Saturday, October 14th
Show runs Monday, October 16th, through Friday, November 17th
“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.” – Voltaire
As one of our basic life needs, food has been a popular subject matter throughout modern art and art history. Depictions of food can be found in Italian Renaissance paintings, on Roman mosaics, and inside the Egyptian pyramids. Food is the cornerstone of holidays, celebrations, and the Bloomsburg Fair! Everything from fruits and vegetables to delectable desserts, elegant cuisine to greasy diner platters – we love it all, and we want to see it all! The Exchange invites you to submit artwork on the delicious theme of food.
The Exchange asks artists and show-goers to donate non-perishable food items during the duration of this exhibition. At the end of the show, we will bring your donations to the Bloomsburg Food Cupboard.
Image by Jack Simonds
“Cash & Carry X” open call
Work due Saturday, November 18th
Show runs Monday, November 20th, through Friday, December 29th
Please submit this form with your work.
You as artist/lender bear sole responsibility for insuring your own work. Neither the Exchange nor its volunteers nor employees may be held liable for any loss or damage to the artwork on loan. Neither an exhibitor nor any representative(s) thereof shall be a party to any legal action against The Exchange, its board of directors, its employees, or its volunteers arising out of any such loss or damage to personal property or personal injury. When you drop off your work, you must sign a gallery loan agreement to this effect.
We use photographs of artwork for promoting the exhibitions here; on the form, you may choose to have your work not photographed.
The Exchange Gallery takes a 20% commission on sales, meaning the artist receives 80% of the sale price of a piece. You may choose to donate more than 20% -- and up to 100% -- of the sale price to the Gallery. All income from sales goes directly to keeping the lights on here.
Any work not picked up one month after the end on an exhibition will be considered abandoned and will be recycled.
Exhibition Agreement:
You must certify that all work offered for exhibition, for sale, and/or for display at the Exchange is original and designed and executed by you or legally represented by you. You understand that The Exchange reserves the right to accept or reject any work for public display.
We look forward to having your work at the Exchange Gallery.
“Going Green” open call
Work due Saturday, April 1st
Show runs Monday, April 3rd, through Friday, May 5th
Green is the color of new beginnings, Springtime, and Earth Day. It is associated with luck, prosperity, and hope. It’s also associated with greed, jealousy, and illness. Additionally, green can mean eco-friendly or energy efficient. The Exchange invites you to submit artwork featuring the color and/or the concept of “green”.
Image by Neil Dignazio
“In the City” open call
Work due Saturday, July 22nd
Show runs Monday, July 24th through Friday, September 1st
To explain his impressions of the early industrial cities of Europe, Charles Baudelaire used the term “ennui”, the feeling of being alone on a crowded place. He saw these cities with their influx of people from the country as lonely and distant. Is that how you think of cities today, or as bustling cities of opportunity? Or do you see them as dangerous, or mysterious? The Exchange Gallery invites you to share your thoughts on the city though your art. All media welcome.
Image by Gina Dignazio
