The grand opening of the ICR exhibition “The Roerich Pact. History and Modernity” took place on July, 17th in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The exposition at the new Museum of Migration includes documents, unique photographs and reproductions of the paintings of the great Russian painter, thinker and remarkable public figure Nicholas Roerich.

From the Russian side the exhibition was opened by A. Losyukov, President of the Roerichs’ Heritage Preservation Committee. He said: “Cultural heritage is the life of mankind. The ones, who do not know or destroy their past in their present, do not have future”.

The exhibition aroused great interest among the officials of Uruguay and neighboring countries as well as multiple NGOs. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture of Uruguay, UNESCO representative, President of UNIDEM-Uruguay, Ambassador of Nicaragua in Uruguay, Russian Ambassador in Uruguay, representatives of town councils of Paysandú and Colonia and other remarkable cultural figures of Uruguay attended the grand opening.

Many guests found out for the first time from A. Losyukov’s speech that it was in Montevideo in December 1933, 80 years ago, during the 7th conference of Pan-American Union, that unanimous appeal to the governments of countries-members of this organization was formed to sign the Roerich Pact.

After the opening speech of the President of the Roerichs’ Heritage Preservation Committee many questions were asked about the significance of the Roerich Pact, about the sign of the Pact – the Banner of Peace, about the concept of culture as seen by Nicholas Roerich. Prominent cultural figures – theatre directors, writers, and actors inquired about the theatrical art of the painter, in particular his participation in the ballet “Holy Spring” together with Diaghilev and Stravinsky. Ambassador of Nicaragua expressed his genuine desire to organize the exhibition “The Roerich Pact. History and Modernity” in his country. The UNESCO representative promised to continue the support of the ICR initiatives.

The function concluded with the presentation of the Banner of Peace from the Russian party to the Uruguay officials. It was promptly put on display at the central hall of the Museum.