The Friends of Cobbett Road Library, with help from the Big Lottery Fund’s Celebrate England Initiative, will be hosting a celebration of the 25^th birthday of Cobbett Road’s very own statue, Art Within Reach, on Saturday, October 15.
• Talking to Dot Winteridge: Being the model for famous ‘Art within Reach’ statue

 

The event, which is free and open to all, will run from 10.30 am until 12.30 pm in the Library at Cobbett Road, SO18 1HL.

Sculptor Kevin Atherton scanned some of the images from his archive of the making of the sculpture, taken by Susan Ormerod. "Dot really did do a stirling job as the model as some of these images prove," he said.

The bronze statue was created by sculptor Kevin Atherton, who will be travelling from Ireland to attend the event. It was modelled on Dorothy Winteridge, one of the first regular users of Cobbett Road Library from its opening in May 1939 and now one of the Library’s most longstanding supporters.

Library campaign

During a long campaign to save our public library from closure, this eye-catching statue became an icon of hope, and it has now been adopted within the logo of the Library as it takes on its new role as Cobbett Hub & Library under the auspices of Social Care in Action (SCA) and Unexpected Places.

Our statue may also have set something of a national trend, because in 1995, not long after the installation of Art Within Reach, a large bronze figure of Sir Isaac Newton, created by Eduardo Paolozzi, was erected outside the British Library’s new building at St Pancras.

Join the celebration and meet the artist

Friends of Cobbett Road Library would like this anniversary event to celebrate the diverse culture of our local community. They invite you to come along and enjoy activities including making your own sketch or mini statue, writing about what the statue means to you and taking part in a quiz.

You can also take advantage of this unique opportunity to ask the sculptor, Kevin Atherton, about Art Within Reach and other works he has undertaken, while enjoying music, refreshments and all that our local library has to offer.

Find out more

 To find out more about activities and events at the Library, visit the Friends of Cobbett Road Library website or take a look at their Facebook page.

Madeleine O’Beirn
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See also: Talking to Dot Winteridge: Being the model for famous ‘Art within Reach’ statue