The Locws2 event has brought together 12 artists from around the world to create exhibits that are relevant to their surroundings.

There is a real variety, with some sculptural objects, video installations and performances

Festival organiser David Hastie

The festival, which will run until 29 September, opened with a live performance on Swansea beach by local metal detector enthusiasts on Saturday afternoon.

Artists from Australia, Italy, Germany and Ireland are taking part in the event, using a number of contemporary techniques, which aim to question how people view art in the public domain.

All the works are designed as "an innovative response to the city's history, architecture, character and people".

The venues for the displays include Swansea observatory, the Old River Tawe Bridge, the Helwick Lightship and Swansea museum.

Festival organiser David Hastie said the best place to start was Swansea museum, where people can pick up maps of the sites round the city, then walk round and tick them off as they go.

Love spoons inspired one of the artists

"There is a real variety, with some sculptural objects, video installations and performances - some are obvious, while others are more subtle and sensitive," he added.

Fellow organiser Sue James said that preparations had been underway for about a year and a half, but that the main work had been carried out in the last couple of months.

One of the exhibitors, Grace Weir, said she wanted to site her work in the observatory from the first time she saw it.

The Irish artist has created several video works inspired by astrophysics in this location.

Elsewhere, Australian Catriona Stanton was inspired by the Welsh love spoon at Swansea Central Library.

Inflatable cacti decorated the beach

"My work is called Hiraeth, meaning a deep longing for home in Welsh," said Ms Stanton, who aimed to bring the love spoon "back into the hands and hearts of the Welsh".

Another exhibit is a 40ft tapestry made of metal meshing and dyed wool at the Abbey Woolen Mill in the Maritime and Industrial Museum by Bala-born Angharad Pearce Jones.

She has been created art based around the closure of Welsh industry and its rebirth as Welsh heritage for five years.

Using older fabrics, the artist aims to refer to the era when the mill was first brought to Swansea.

Swansea Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 1000 and 1700.