Each dot on the map shows the approximate location of a SITE depicted for this project.
Some dots represent multiple artists' SITEs -- the same location chosen by more than one artist or multiple locations very close to each other.
A public art project by Cindi Hron and The Exchange, SITEexchange engaged artists in the central Susquehanna Valley to observe and record, through artistic means, the sites (places) important to them within the region: public places, private places, well-known ones, secret ones -- any places at all worth documenting in paintings, drawings, photographs, or any other artistic medium.
As always, we encouraged artists of all ages and levels of experience to submit their work, and each participant could determine how to interpret the idea of "site". More than thirty artists responded to the call -- many more, actually, since a group of 5th-grade students collaborated on one of the paintings entered -- and you can see all of their 49 pieces below. Perhaps best of all, SITEexchange presents the art in a fun and novel way, by distributing multiple copies of each submitted piece at 4.25 by 5.5 inches, folded and encapsulated, via 26 novelty vending machines -- gumball machines -- in venues from Berwick to Laurelton in October and November, 2022. Every piece sells for 50 cents. See below for the complete list of venues.
All of the original artwork hung at the Exchange Gallery between October 10th and November 18th, 2022.
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Artist Cindi Hron (cindihron.myportfolio.com) has worked in many media over the course of her career; this idea for this show originated with "SITE Omaha" in that Nebraska city in 1996.
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Financial support for SITEexchange came from the Puffin Foundation West, Ltd.;
we thank them for their enthusiasm for this project.
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Gumball machines came courtesy of NEPA Vending; thanks, Joe!
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As always, thanks to Chris Baumer at Bloomsburg University Duplicating for his excellent work printing the artwork copies and the SITE map.
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SCROLL DOWN TO HERE SEE EACH OF THE PIECES IN SITEexchange, along with the artist's name and the location -- the SITE. Some of the artists added thoughts about why they chose their sites -- and one even sent us a poem!
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WHAT PLACES MATTER TO YOU? Drop us a line and send us an image and tell us the story of your special place, and we will compile them into an on-line addendum to SITEexchange. You can reach us at Exchange@ExchangeArts.org
It took six volunteers a day and a half to encapsulate all 2,000 copies of the 49 artworks.
The Exchange looks at SITEexchange as similar to our Storytelling events: opportunities to build a shared sense of this this region's identity. If we share our art with each other and tell our stories to each other, sharing what we find important about where we live, we can start to build the sort of "brand" that other regions have.
Whether or not it leads to greater visitation (and greater infusions of outside cash, a great way to help support our fellow citizens), an identity for our region that its residents share will only do us good, because it can help us make long-term decisions about what does and does not work here. We see SITEexchange and our storytelling series as two small tributaries of the larger river that we can follow to a better future.
VENDING MACHINE LOCATIONS
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October and November 2022
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Thanks to each and every one for hosting SITEexchange; we could not have done this without them.
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BERWICK
Berwick Theater
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BLOOMSBURG
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Artspace Gallery
Bloomsburg Children's Museum
Bloomsburg Area YMCA
Bloomsburg Hospital
Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble
Bloomsburg Town Hall
Bloomsburg University -- Haas Gallery
Bloomsburg University -- Arts/Admin Bldg.
Brewskis
Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau
Phillips Emporium
The Exchange
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CATAWISSA
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Rohrbach's Farm Market
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DANVILLE
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Art Grind
Montour Preserve
Pine Barn Inn
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MILTON
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Art Academy of Milton
SUNBURY
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Degenstein Community Library
Sunbury Arts Council
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LEWISBURG
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Campus Theater
Lewisburg Children's Museum
Samek Downtown Gallery
Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau
The Public Library of Union County
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MIFFLINBURG
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Herr Memorial Library
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LAURELTON
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West End Library
The SITES
Stillwater, Columbia County
Ann Wolfe
Rainy Day at Vista Lodge
Colored pencil, $50
Rural Danville
Annie Barnhardt
Pennsylvania Barn #3
Painting, $350
Centralia
Barbara Klauger
Graffiti Highway
Acrylic, $25
Espy, Columbia County
Brock Dent
Susquehanna River
Xerox transfer, gouache, and ink
Shikellamy State Park, Sunbury
Carol Busada
Shikellamy State Park Marina
Photo, $350
"In 2015, the Pa. State Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary and asked photographers to submit work documenting architecture contemporary with the Museum itself. This piece was chosen for display at the Museum. Thank you to John Clifford, manager of Shikellamy State Park, for providing me with the marina’s history."
Numidia, Columbia County
Chris Mathias
Valerie Reading, Newlin
Egg tempera and oil, NFS
Susquehanna River, Danville
Cindi Hron
Eel Weir between Danville and Riverside
Digital collage, NFS
Fishing Creek, Columbia County
Diane Derr
Rupert Covered Bridge
Oil
Columbia County
Franklin McGady
English Hill Barn
Photo
Susquehanna River
Helen Lynn
River
Photo
"Time to think and relax."
Mifflinburg
John Decker
Elias Center for the Performing Arts
Photo
"My wife’s great-great-grandfather was the pastor at Elias Church from 1840 to 1857 in this structure, opened in 1806 -- Rev. Ephraim Kieffer, pastor of the Joint Lutheran and Reformed congregation."
Susquehanna Riverlands, Berwick
Anne Cosper
Sunnies and Water Plants
Watercolor, $20
"It has been several years since I first attempted to capture the sunnies on paper -- they are a delight to watch -- zipping around their fish 'metropolis'. Look closely at the artwork and see if you can find three fish."
Centralia
Barbara Klauger
Nature Takeover
Acrylic, $25
Susquehanna River
Bridgette N. Thompson
Take a Float
Collage, NFS
"The collage is based off a photo I took while floating down the Susquehanna River, created using many small bits of paper ripped from magazines and some gloss medium." It comes with a poem:
Take a Float
It weaves and strings our communities together
An ebb and flow place for us to treasure
Take a float, or pick a spot
Stress escapes with time for thought
A place for you, a place for me
Play and splash and be carefree
A collage made from a moment in time
A pause at the river awaits you anytime
Irish Valley, Northumberland County
Chet Davis
Irish Valley Tunnel
Graphite on paper, $50
Weiser State Forest, Northumberland County
Christine Stametz
Therapy on 2 Wheels
Acrylic
Kocher Park, Lightstreet
CL McBeth-Collins
Magic Around the Corner
Watercolor and pen, $50
Bloomsburg
Franklin McGady
Town Park, Bloomsburg
Photo
Bloomsburg
Helen Lynn
Monument
Photo
"When I see it, I am home."
Espy, Columbia County
Helen Lynn
Sliding Board
Photo
"Everything seems so big."
Weiser State Forest, Northumberland County
Kayla Wilkerson
Roaring Creek Watershed
Photo
Bloomsburg
Kristina Martyniuk
Seasons of Sycamore #1, #2, and #3
Photos
"The sycamore is a tree that I never saw before. I fell in love with its colour from the first minute that I saw it across the river.."
Danville
Laurie Sweney-Witmer
Wishing for Miracles – Turtle Fountain
Watercolor, NFS
"This location has special meaning to my family, as my daughter was diagnosed with a rare cancer at 15 months old. She is now eleven, and her battle continues. We have been going to Geisinger’s Foss Clinic and Janet Weis Children's Hospital for nearly a decade. The place and the people there have become like a second home and family to us. The 'turtle fountain' located in the lobby was a respite for us from all of the treatments and procedures. We never missed an opportunity to throw in coins, wishing for miracles for our family and all the others served by the hospital. We feel very blessed to have a hospital like Geisinger here in our backyard."
Bloomsburg Fair Midway
Lori Auten
Got My Ducks In A Row
Photo, $50
Bloomsburg
Mahes Sharma
The Fountain
Colored pencil
Montour County
Mary Lapos
Sunnybrook Park
Drawing
Columbia County
Mary Powlus
Berwick Sunset
Pastel
Montour County
Melissa Matthews
Paradise Abandoned
Watercolor, $105
Bloomsburg
Oren B. Helbok
The Fountain and The Consistory in snow
Photo
Bloomsburg
Robin Beck
Bloomsburg Town Park
Photo, $20
"Sitting in my car by the river -- luncheon on my lap, book against the steering wheel -- pondering life’s big questions."
Bloomsburg Boat Launch
Sara Mika
Wonderland
Watercolor, $125
"A site/sight that make my heart happy."
Columbia County
Seth Wilkerson
Hidden Pond
Photo
Somewhere in the woods, Montour County
Shaina Davis
Campfire Pit
Graphite on paper, $30
"The campfire pit is a place I look forward to: socialize, unwind, and eat tasty food (i.e. s’mores). I enjoy the process it takes to gather wood and stoke the fire. I have many fond memories of camping trips and BBQs with family and friends."
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Union County
Susan Boudman
Blue Bells
Painting, $75
"From the Lewisburg plein air painting event."
Lewisburg Area Recreation Park
Vince Hron
Common Ground
Painting, NFS
Montour County
Lee Barnhardt
Dawn Over Danville
Photo
Montour County
5th grade students
Liberty Valley Elementary School
Acrylic, NFS
In 2021, Danville Area School District art teacher Theresa Madison worked with her students to depict the building that they share; the painting measures 36 inches high by 48 inches wide and, when not in an Exchange Gallery show, hangs in the school.
Bloomsburg
Lydia Hannibal
Backyard Bliss
Acrylic
"During the summer, my backyard is my getaway from a vacation. It it a relaxing, calm, cool place to have a drink, listen to running water from our pond, and take a dip in the pool."
Bloomsburg
Mahes Sharma
Pink and Blue -- Flowers In Town Park
Marker
Columbia County
Mary Powlus
A Tree Grows In Benton
Pastel
"I based this image on a photo I took of a friend’s property in Benton. It was my first time working with pastels, a great learning experience. Thanks for the opportunity!"
Lightstreet, Columbia County
Mike Silver
Kocher Park
Acrylic
Susquehanna Riverlands
Oren B. Helbok
The Hand of Man on the Landscape,
the Hand of Man on the Sky
Photo
"On an outing during the first autumn of COVID, my family and I walked the full clockwise circuit around the Riverlands. Coming into the cornfield at the southeast corner of the property, the clouds rising from the nuke plant over the hill caught my eye, and it occurred to me that they wrote on the cloudless sky clear evidence of humanity's impact on our planet, just as the furrowed and stubbled cornfield etched that impact into the ground that we walked on."
Weiser State Forest, Northumberland County
Roxanne Zuber
McWilliams Reservoir
Photo on watercolor paper with encaustic medium
Danville
Seth Wilkerson
Danville Overlook
Photo
Danville
Seth Wilkerson
Thomas Beaver Free Library
Photo
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Mount Pleasant Township, Columbia County
Susan Boudman
Winter's Thaw
Painting, $75
"A place I pass every day and stopped to capture the snow melt. One of my first paintings!"
Potts Grove
Theresa Madison
Sam Wagner Covered Bridge
Painting, $126
"This beloved bridge is located near my backyard. Even as a child, I have felt it was my special place." Also known as the Gottlieb Brown Covered Bridge, it spans Chillisquaque Creek and links Montour and Northumberland Counties.
WHAT PLACES MATTER TO YOU?
Drop us a line and send us an image and tell us the story of your special place, and we will compile them into an on-line addendum to SITEexchange. You can reach us at Exchange@ExchangeArts.org
