MYRTLE BEACH, SC.-For most of us, a new year means reflecting on the past and looking to the future – and even more so when it’s the start of a new decade. So it was only fitting that the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum launches its 10th anniversary year Jan. 14 with an exhibit titled Then and Now: Selected Artists from the Permanent Collection.

It’s a terrific opportunity to see how the artistic styles and techniques of some now-prominent artists have developed over the years and to speculate on where they’re going. As well as marking the start of a yearlong anniversary celebration, the exhibit marks the Museum’s reopening following a $100,000 renovation that began in late November.

An opening reception will be held from 2-4 p.m. Jan. 14, offering Museum patrons the chance to meet all the artists included in the exhibition. Regular gallery hours, beginning Jan. 16, will be from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Sundays. The exhibit runs through April 22.

Although the Art Museum itself is only 10 years old, its permanent collection spans more than three decades of artistic expression. Assembled by the Waccamaw Arts and Crafts Guild through purchase awards from the Guild’s annual exhibitions from 1970-84, the original collection was donated to the Museum at its inception in 1997.

With such prominent artists as Sigmund Abeles of New York, Denny Mecham and Kincheloe of North Carolina and Allan Taylor of Georgia; plus well-known South Carolina artists including Carl Blair, Eva Carter, Dixie Dugan, Alex Powers and Betty Anglin Smith. This collection is widely respected among regional art authorities.

Fourteen artists will have archival works from the permanent collection on display, along with new works created within the past two years. Museum-goers will get to see not only the changes in each artist’s vision and style, but also the impact of technological changes in art media and materials that have occurred since the collection’s early days.

A total of 56 works are included in the exhibit, created in media ranging from acrylics, oils and watercolors to stoneware and white earthenware, gouache and collage. Admission to the Museum is free but donations are welcome. For further information about the Museum and upcoming 10th Anniversary events, call 843-238-2510.

The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum is a wholly nonprofit institution located across from Springmaid Pier at 3100 South Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. Components of Museum programs are funded in part by support from the City of Myrtle Beach, the Horry County Council and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.