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During his visit today to the exhibition “Five Artifacts — and Only One Night” at the Museum of Free Belarus, Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and Head of the People’s Anti-Crisis Administration, recalled that while serving as Belarus’s Minister of Culture from 2009 to 2012, he received annual letters from the then French Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand—who was related to the world-famous politician, former French President François Mitterrand—inviting Belarusian museums to participate in the European initiative “Night of Museums.”
“I am convinced that museums, both in Belarus and Belarusian museums abroad, must participate in such projects. Even though we are abroad, we represent the national Belarusian culture—its richness, its depth, its historical heritage. By the way, back then, with the French Minister of Culture, we agreed to sign an intergovernmental agreement in 2010 between Belarus and France on cooperation in culture, education, science, and media, which was later denounced in 2023 by the Lukashenko regime.
But culture is eternal—Belarusian culture is part of the European cultural heritage and European future. Today’s Night of Museums at the Museum of Free Belarus is a testament to the preservation and development of our culture in exile. Visit the Museum of Free Belarus today to see unique historical artifacts acquired by the Museum and our partners,” said Pavel Latushka.
Only today, May 17, at the Museum of Free Belarus, 11 Foksal Street, Warsaw, from 12:00 to 00:00, as part of the international Night of Museums initiative, you can see the originals of unique historical artifacts:
– The Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, issued in 1693. This copy was purchased by the MALDZIS initiative with the aim of returning it to Belarus;
– The book Peregrination by Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, printed in 1614. The book was acquired by the Belarusian Council of Culture through the efforts of the Belarusian Patrons’ Club;
– Two Radziwiłł maps of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 17th century. One was acquired by the MALDZIS initiative, the other by the Council of Culture;
– A secret letter from the Brest Voivode Jan Antoni Horain, written during the time of the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and acquired by the Museum of Free Belarus.
In addition to the exhibition Five Artifacts — and Only One Night, during the Night of Museums at the Museum of Free Belarus, there will be a children’s area called the “Cartographer’s Cabinet,” and on the concert stage at 21:00 on May 17, performers from different countries, including Belarusian artists CHORNABROVA and Lera Dele (Koob Dele), will perform.
Original article: NAU
