Aphra Behn statue, outside the Beaney Institute

After an international competition and showing the maquettes of our four shortlisted designs around the country, we commissioned the celebrated British artist Christine Charlesworth to create a bronze lifesize+ statue of the 17-year-old Aphra, the age at which she left Canterbury for London. The piece will stand outside the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge in the High Street and we are delighted that it will be unveiled on 25 February 2025 by a very distinguished patron of literacy and reading. Due to unexpected additional costs, however, our Aphra fund is still short by a couple of thousand pounds: we would dearly welcome any donation you are able to make! Thank you.