What you can put into a suitcase takes on new meaning once you view the "The Suitcase Show" that opens at Coastal Carolina University Aug. 26 with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. The show will remain up through Oct. 2.

The traveling exhibit from the Tri-State Sculptors Educational Association will be in the Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery at Coastal. It's free and open to the public.

The 41 pieces in the show are from 41 artists, including five from South Carolina, 26 from North Carolina, three from Georgia, two from Florida, and one from Virginia, California, Illinois, Texas, Africa and New Zealand.

"The concept for the exhibition is to meet with and temporarily exchange our work with other sculptors internationally," said Greg Shelnutt, curator of the show. "When we travel our show to any given location, the idea is not only to set up an exhibition of our work, but also to leave with our bags packed with the work of the sculptors of that region. We then will set up an exhibition of their work in our neck of the woods. In the post 9/11 world, there is even more need to attempt cross-border communication."

The show is also traveling to Elon College and Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky., among other locations.

The Tri State Sculptors Educational Association was formed in 1978 by a group of sculptors from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to promote public awareness and appreciation of sculpture in the region and to exchange ideas and information among its members.

Gallery hours at the Bryan Art Gallery are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The gallery is located in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Call 349-2711 for more information.