The Exchange

Who We Are

The Exchange began as a project of interested, concerned, active citizens in and around Bloomsburg who saw the need for an arts and community center downtown.  Dedicated to bringing the arts to all communities throughout our region, we operate out of a storefront art gallery on Main Street. The Exchange Gallery hosts shows year 'round with work by artists of all ages and levels of experience, from preschool children to art professors -- more than 80 shows and almost 1,000 exhibitors since 2012. We also coordinate art exhibits at the Bloomsburg Public Library and other venues in Bloomsburg.

Our Art Cart helps bring out the beauty in each person, at venues ranging from childcare centers to nursing homes, and our facilitators bring projects in many media, including painting and drawing, cut-out paper, and sculpture.  They tailor the projects to any age group and any size group.  We have visited more than 50 venues in four counties since 2015, serving tens of thousands of people.

The Exchange produces Blues/Americana/Roots music events throughout our region, celebrating the original American musical art form and the genres that have arisen from it, and we host live music monthly in the Gallery as our Listening Room brings great musicians to Main Street in Bloomsburg.  In 2023, we began a collaboration with the Berwick Arts Association to present the monthly Coffeehouse Series at Anomaly Brewing on Front Street.

The Exchange hosts Storytelling in the Gallery -- opportunities to build a shared sense of this community's and this region's identity: What, after all, does "Columbia-Montour" mean to you? Even for those of us who live here (and who love living here), that name does not instantly evoke the same sort of clarity and certainty that "The Poconos" or "Lancaster County" or even "The Endless Mountains" does.  Don't get us wrong: We do not want to convince legions of people to come live here -- we do not want to overrun the rural aspect that makes our home counties so attractive and appealing in the first place.  But we do want to continue to develop a sustainable and diversified economy that can rely on visitors who come here, have a good time, spend money, and leave.  (Think Knoebels on a larger scale -- although at close to a million and a half visitors a year before COVID, Knoebels drew a massive number to begin with!)  But, we believe, if we tell our stories to each other, and share what we find important about this region, we can start to build the sort of "brand" that those other regions have.

Each August, we produce ArtFest, which brings artists and craftspeople from across Pennsylvania to display and sell their work outdoors on Bloomsburg's historic Square, accompanied by live music and great regional food trucks.  In addition, we coordinate the Halloween window-painting in Bloomsburg with seven area schools, and with a group of other non-profits, we collaborate on BOO!burg and other community events.

At The Exchange, #XMarksTheArts.

Visit us at 24 East Main, home to The Exchange and its Gallery.  We welcome you to our center for art, culture, and the community.  You may also visit our Web site, ExchangeArts.org.

We have regular hours Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but they may vary some from week to week; check our on-line calendar at ExchangeArts.org/gallery-hours for the current week.

Visit current and past Gallery shows virtually at ExchangeArts.org/2025-exhibits.  See what we have coming up at ExchangeArts.org/calls-for-entry.

The Exchange is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation.  We have federal 501(C)(3) non-profit status from the I.R.S., making your contributions to the Exchange fully tax deductible.  You can make a difference at the Exchange, as a volunteer, business owner, customer, partner, donor – please get in touch!