Artist Donna Lipowitz has launched the Scent Lending Library, a multisensory project that allows visitors to check out fragrances like books. Debuting at Olfactory Art Keller in New York before moving to Fogue Gallery in Seattle, the collection features over 200 items ranging from luxury perfumes like Chanel No. 5 to conceptual odors such as "The Smell of Space" and "Green Cicada." Borrowers receive small amber bottles containing scented blotter paper along with traditional library check-out slips.
The project highlights the growing significance of olfactory art and the pursuit of "scent literacy" in a visually dominated culture. By treating scents as cultural artifacts and memory triggers, Lipowitz explores how smell can function as a communal experience and a tool for emotional connection. The library's transition into a permanent installation space in Seattle underscores the increasing institutional and public interest in immersive, non-visual art forms.