Kevin Atherton, creator of the well-known 'Art within Reach' statue at Cobbett Hub & Library – pictured left – was just one of many celebrating the bronze statue's 25th anniversary on Saturday (Oct 15). Click through to hear Kevin chatting about the work, and for more pictures from the day - as well as a short video of the statue's 're-unveiling', and another video made in 1990 when it was first seen.
Kevin Atherton, creator of the well-known 'Art within Reach' statue at Cobbett Hub & Library – pictured above with Georgie Webb, who was librarian-in-charge at Cobbett Road when it was made – was just one of many celebrating the bronze statue's 25th anniversary on Saturday (Oct 15). Click through to hear Kevin chatting about the work, and for more pictures from the day - as well as a short video of the statue's 're-unveiling', and another video made in 1990 when it was first seen.Use the audio player below to listen to Kevin, who was visiting from his home in Ireland, talking outside Cobbett Hub & Library about the statue 25 years on. You can also scroll down to see the pictures and videos.
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You can see a short video below of Saturday's 're-unveiling', posted on Twitter by Rónán O'Beirne:
@FoCRL@bitternepark Great celebration - public library alive and well pic.twitter.com/hxJy9BjTSG
— Rónán O'Beirne (@obeirne_ronan) October 15, 2016
The celebration continued inside Cobbett Hub & Library, with a range of activities, socialising, and the sharing of memories, as well as some tasty refreshments.
You can see the original unveiling of the statue in July 1990 in this BBC video, which includes interviews with the artist and the model at the time.
Video courtesy BBC Radio Solent
And you can read an interview from earlier this month with Dot Winteridge about what it was like to be the model for famous ‘Art within Reach’ statue, following this link, where there are also a number of photographs taken as the statue was being made: “The plastering was uncomfortable, especially the head,” she says!