The Athenaeum Press, a student-driven publishing lab at Coastal Carolina University, is launching its first exhibit at the Myrtle Beach Art Museum in celebration of its 10-year anniversary. “Local Stories Matter: Rediscovering Our Region with the Athenaeum Press” begins Thursday, Sept. 21, with an opening reception scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit runs through Sunday, Dec. 31. The museum is free and open to the public.

CCU’s Athenaeum Press is dedicated to telling often-overlooked stories of the Horry and Georgetown County regions in a hybrid fashion: with innovative projects that include both tangible and digital elements. Topics through the years have included the Waccamaw River, Gullah Geechee spirituals, pirates in the Carolinas, and chicken bog. Projects typically span two to three semesters and involve groups of eight to 15 undergraduate and graduate students, one or two affiliated faculty members, and a small team of community experts. During the past 10 years, the Athenaeum Press has connected more than 300 students with community and academic experts to create 15 major multimedia projects, which range from books to websites to museum exhibits to music CDs to digitally screen-printed posters.

“Local Stories Matter” not only showcases the projects completed through the years, but it also highlights the processes behind the projects. With features including student testimony, photos of research in action, and artifacts used in the telling of each story, the exhibit is a testament to the learning and community-building that has taken place within the Athenaeum Press over a decade.

Alli Crandell, director, and Scott Mann, creative director of the Athenaeum Press, have been involved with the press nearly since its inception. Designing the exhibit, along with students, affiliated faculty, and community members, has been rewarding all on its own. Crandell said “Local Stories Matter” is both an opportunity for the public to experience the full range of Athenaeum Press work and a chance for press alumni to come together.

“It’s kind of a homecoming for us,” said Crandell. “We’ve brought back a lot of the scholars, faculty, and collaborators, as well as students – all the people who have made the Athenaeum Press so successful over the years.”

For more information on “Local Stories Matter,” visit myrtlebeachartmuseum.org.