What's the story?
Meet You At The Hippos.
Pardon?
It's a BBC Scotland documentary which sees Shetland and Guilt star Mark Bonnar embark upon an odyssey around Scotland's post-war new towns to shine a spotlight on their legacy of public art.
Why?
The actor's father is Stan Bonnar, the environmental artist responsible for creating the famed concrete hippo sculptures in Glenrothes and East Kilbride's landmark concrete elephants. A young Mark Bonnar spent part of his childhood living in both towns.
Tell me more.
Meet You At The Hippos examines the story behind the conception of Scotland's new towns – East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine – and how they set out to entice the overspill population of Glasgow.
The programme seeks to uncover the surprising ways in which public art, such as concrete sculptures, totem poles, decorated underpasses and standing stones, changed the new towns and how, in turn, the new towns changed public art.
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Anything else?
Mark Bonnar learns how the seminal work of new town artist Brian Miller in Cumbernauld has inspired a new generation, while other former new town artists, including David Harding, Malcolm Robertson, Mary Bourne and Denis Barns, reflect on their respective projects.
When can I watch?
Meet You At The Hippos is on BBC Scotland, Tuesday, 10pm.
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