AN EXHIBITION of art by five famous female artists at the Central Library and the Number Nine Gallery ends today (Saturday).

‘The Female Aesthetic: Women in the Public Domain’ brings together different pieces of contemporary public art from artists who have all worked in Swindon at some point in their lengthy careers.

The exhibition curated by Karen Roswell features works by Sally Taylor, Sasha Ward, Lou Hamilton Sokari Douglas Camp, and Julie Livsey who have all been involved with the Thamesdown Public Art Unit in some way.

It opened on March 4 as part of International Women’s Day and closes today.

Miss Roswell said: “The reason it’s in an informal setting is because people sometimes feel awkward going into spaces like a museum to look at art, people who are interested in art will go seeking it out but for those that don’t, this setting is more accessible.

“I was inspired by artworks but didn’t grow up going to museums, going to the library was the perfect place to learn about art for me and I wanted to be true to that with this exhibition.”

Karen is also a curator of visual art and the organiser of International Women’s Day Swindon.

The eye-catching ‘Asoebi’ sculptures made by Sokari Douglas Camp in 2005 have been a fixture of the library’s courtyard for the past couple of months after being originally created as a water feature for the Garden of Africa at the British Museum.

The library is also the temporary home of Lou Hamilton’s “Wish Hounds” and Julie Livsey’s “White Horse Pacified”.

The exteriors of the library and gallery were decorated with vinyl windows by Sasha Ward who also designed art for the Great Western Hospital’s Chaplaincy.

The Number Nine Gallery features artwork and collections from Sally Taylor, creative director of community art collective Artsite, in a reconstruction of her studio.

Karen added: “I wanted to look at their vision, their style and practices, what it’s like to be an artist working today.”

“All of them have gone through a process to have their art commissioned and put out into the public and I wanted to celebrate that.

This is her first exhibition which she organised after successfully applying for a grant from Arts Council England.

She said: “The first of many I hope. I’d like to do another one in the Central Library, they’ve been a great support, as have ArtSite Limited.”