The Pocono Arts Council closed in September amid ongoing financial struggles. Its legacy and mission will live on through the new Gallery at 530 Main in Stroudsburg.
Artists celebrated the gallery’s official opening with an “Artists of the Poconos” exhibition on Dec. 14.
The exhibition features around “100 artists’ best work,” according to gallery committee member Jack Swersie.
That's in keeping with the council's vision of fostering opportunities for local artists and inspiring the next generation.
Adriana Beers, a professional singer and musical theater educator, says the gallery gives her students and upcoming artists hope. She runs In2YouArts, a multidisciplinary arts program in collaboration with the FuSia Center for the Arts.
“It's full circle,” said Beers, In2YouArts’s owner and artistic director. “It's supporting the arts in any capacity, whether it be for an instrument, for movement, for theater, for art. I think now we've created this home that we can give back to the community in any way that we truly can.”
An end and new beginnings
After nearly 50 years, the Poconos Arts Council announced in August that it would close on Sept. 30 due to financial difficulties.
Complicating the situation was a previous change made by council's longtime granting partner, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). A redistricting undertaken by PCA in the 2019-2020 fiscal year put the Pocono Arts Council into Region 5, and the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation was selected to be regional granting partner.
That meant the Poconos Arts Council lost more than $100,000 in revenue, which also meant it no longer brought in enough money to qualify for other grants.
Despite efforts to remain afloat, the situation became unsustainable.
“Our Board of Directors had an extremely difficult decision to make. Income has remained stagnant for over a decade and our expenses continue to steadily increase. Without significant and sustained financial support in addition to active participation, they recognized it was not feasible to continue,” Executive Director Darice Pauselius wrote.

But the council's remaining assets did not go to waste. Swersie said the council divested its funds into the Community Foundation of Monroe County.
“They felt that they were not sustainable financially … They felt that the money would be better off given to an organization that could disperse it to people in need of money for their art projects, and that's what they did,” Swersie said.
The foundation will spread funding into three projects, according to the Aug. 12 release:
- Suzanne Anderson Art & Music Scholarship Fund: Provides $500 scholarships to graduating seniors from Monroe County who plan to continue their education in art or music. Suzanne Anderson donated the initial funds to the program after her passing.
- Poconos Free Art Workshop Fund: Provides financial support for free, local art workshops. Preference will be given to events in townships within the Pocono Mountain School District.
- Myra Kyle Fund for the Arts: Around $300,000 will be invested in arts projects and programs throughout Monroe County. Myra Kyle donated the funds to this grant program after her passing.
A gallery is born
And Beers received an offer that would revitalize Stroudsburg’s art scene.
Beers, a former member of the council, said she had reached out to the board of directors after the closure announcement to see if In2YouArts could help in any way.
She didn’t hear back for a few months, she said, but Beers said she was talking one day to Richard Berkowitz, president and CEO of the Sherman Theater about an upcoming In2YouArts musical.
He offered her the building that formerly held the arts council. But he had one condition: the building would be shared with a new art gallery for artists across the Poconos.
Berkowitz said the theater had been considering opening a gallery with the arts council for years, but after its closure, he found a new direction with Beers. Beers, he said would run the performance side of Stroudsburg's arts and Swersie would run a committee to guide the gallery.
Beers was delighted.
“In kind of the best of both worlds, my heart was just like filled with not only will the students come into the space to learn something they're passionate about, but also now are able to walk through the walls and see just beautiful artwork everywhere and get inspired in a whole other way,” said Beers.
Beers started In2YouArts seven and a half years ago as a musical theater program and expanded into acting, visual arts, dance and voice lessons. Her Music Together program, a parent-child class, gives caretakers a creative way to connect with their children.
“Parents are able to come to our home, we say, and then drop off one student to do guitar, one student’s taking a voice lesson, one student's dancing in musical theater and singing. And then the mom and dad are in class with music together with their little baby,” said Beers.
Besides expanding her business, the Gallery at 530 Main has made it easier for new artists to get into the art world, she explained.
“So many new artists … felt safe and excited to put their work out there. And I think that speaks volumes. [Swersie] said a third of the art today for this showing are all new artists that have never submitted work. So, I think that it was really exciting,” said Beers.
Her students also picture themselves showing their work professionally because of the new gallery. In2YouArts will also work to reserve the gallery’s spring exhibition for Monroe County students, she added.
The Gallery at 530 Main has a total of six scheduled exhibitions for 2025, according to Swersie, a founding member of the gallery’s committee.
Swersie described the next showing as a “celebration of the Sherman Theater and all venues in the area that present music. So, any artwork that reflects anything about music is what we're going to be looking for.”
The “Artists of the Poconos” exhibit will be open through Feb. 15. Gallery hours are from 12 to 4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the Gallery at 530 Main Street, Stroudsburg.