The 109 Cultural Exchange is an initiative of Saline Main Street. It is a strategy that is centered around the idea that a place for arts and culture is important to a community — both as an amenity and as an enriching shared experience with others.

The 109 is a Third Space.
A third place is somewhere you can connect with others, share your thoughts and dreams, and have fun! It is an anchor of the community and a public setting that hosts frequent and informal gatherings of people. 

Check our Events Calendar for shows, plays and exhibits here! And find our Facebook page dedicated to The 109 here.

When you enter The 109 Cultural Exchange, you’re met with a spirited mood that makes you want to come back to Downtown Saline time and time again. It’s not a place for tension or animosity. Instead, you’ll find laughter, lively conversation, and witty banter! You’ll meet old friends and new, hear a favorite song — or you’ll learn about art and people. You may even find your own sense of place!

From open jams to live music performance — The 109 has its own sound equipment and theatre lighting funded by the MEDC Vibrancy Grant through Michigan Main Street. Comfortable seating, staging, and pipe and drape, too!

The goal? To bring a third space to Downtown Saline that will attract folks to spend more time here — check out our local eateries, cafes, shops and brew pub ‘before the show starts’ and during intermissions.

Mind the Gap Theatre Presents

This summer The 109 hosted its first ever live comedy play featuring Neil Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers. The space’s intimate black box setting brought the audience directly into the scenes and drama.

The show opened to rave reviews and a packed house! Click here for Encore Michigan’s take!

The Saline Fiddlers Harmonic 

America’s premier youth fiddling show band from Saline have made The 109 Cultural Exchange their home for class, workshops and rehearsals! These young musicians and Appalachian step dancers feature a diverse range of music from American folk, fiddle, bluegrass, jazz, western swing, and Celtic traditions. More here!

Salt Valley Arts

Saline Main Street aims to develop civically engaged, community-minded leaders, and problem-solvers. We do this in collab with Salt Valley Arts, whose mission is to build and nurture the creativity of the individual and the local community by providing opportunities for learning, teaching, sharing and appreciating the arts. More about SVA here.

Creative Partners

The 109 and Saline Main Street are honored to be members of Creative Washtenaw! We recognize the creative economy as a major driver for local commerce and community development — especially in downtown revitalization. Creative Washtenaw organizes and supports local community leaders who have creative practices, creative businesses, creative jobs and produce creative goods, services and programs for locals and visitors.

Eastern Michigan University Theatre Department

Theatre Arts at EMU includes the areas of theatre, applied drama and theatre for the young, arts management, entertainment design and technology, interpretation and performance studies and musical theatre. We are proud to be connected to this higher ed theatre community. Via EMU internships and interested staff, The 109 has benefited greatly from resources, consultation and guidance at the hands of their academic theatre leadership. 

Learn more about EMU here.

Exhibits by Local Artists

The Gallery at 109 has been coming together since the Cultural Exchange’s inception and is an on-going effort in partnership with Downtown Saline’s Whitepine Studios and Salt Valley Arts to create a major visual arts presence here. From SVA exhibits and events, to shows curated by our own John James Anderson, a Saline artist and critic who hails from Washington DC — the gallery continually transforms the walls of the 109. Other groups who regularly use the space for creating, writing and group critiques include the Ann Arbor Pastelists, Chelsea Painters Guild and the SVA Cake Eaters.