The Rogatchi Foundation Culture for Humanity Award 2020

The Rogatchi Foundation is happy to announce our new laureates in year 2020. In this special, challenging year, our Foundation has come with new Culture for Humanity Global Initiative, to help the wide public to cope with challenging times caused by a mass factor, such as pandemics, via arts and culture, to provide psychological support via these special means to as many people as possible world-wide.

As we are working on this wide-reaching initiative from March 2020 onward, some outlines of our activities has been accommodated for the new needs and objectives that we have as our strategic priorities from the time of covid-19 pandemic.

Following these necessary and logical changes in our works, we have also adjusted our annual Award, from previously known as Humanist of the Year Award to Culture for Humanity Award, as we believe that during these very difficult times for every single person worldwide, culture is providing much needed light into our life and daily struggles on so many different fronts and directions.

To be able to produce culture under the circumstances, to be creative, energetic, capable for new creations, people involved in that field, have to have an extra measures of strength, motivation, willingness, aspirations, and humanity to willing to continue to work in demanding sphere of creativity and to share their hearts with many of us.

This year 2020, introducing our first Culture for Humanity Annual Award, we have decided that all our laureates will be given Life Achievement Family Culture for Humanity Award. The Rogatchi Foundation Board has decided to award special people and institutions in which culture for humanity was and is a family business and tradition for generations. Importantly, our laureates are also demonstrated a very serious input into the contribution culture for humanity in several generations of the same family, and are continuing to do so today. We believe that it is noble and special tradition which is worthy to be recognised internationally.

For the first time during the traditional The Rogatchi Foundation Annual Award, among our laureates are institutions. Previously, we recognised an individuals with our Award. This time, the work of the institutions in question under extremely daring realities of covid-19 pandemic, and their contribution into providing much needed cultural anti-dote against long and ongoing psychological stress among wide public, is not only highly professional and focused, but it is also brave and coming out of the strong convictions, both professional and humanitarian ones. This kind of attitude is certainly worthy of special recognition, we believe.

We are happy to congratulate our distinguished laureates:

Sinebrychoff Art Museum/Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Finland – in honour of the 100th anniversary of Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff donating of their unique art collection to the Finnish public ( to be celebrated in 2021), for outstanding Tiepolo: Venice in the North exhibition ( 17.09.2020-10.01.2021) and important contribution to public cultural life in Finland in the extremely difficult realities of the covid-19 pandemic, with the special notion of the exhibition’s curator, the chief curator of Sinebrychoff Art Museum Dr Ira Westergard and the Museum’s director Dr Kirsi Eskelinen.

Director of Sinebrychoff Art Museum/Finnish National Gallery Kirsi Eskelin ( on the right) and Chief Curator of the Museum Dr Ira Westergard at the Tiepolo: Venice in the North exhibition, 2020. Courtesy: Sinebrychoff Art Museum/Finnish National Gallery, Photo: Hannu Pakarinen.

The Didrichsen Art Museum , Helsinki, Finland – in honour of the 55th anniversary of the Gunnar and Marie-Louise Didrichsen family’s donation of their rare art collection to the Finnish public ( celebrated in 2020), for extraordinary Becoming van Gogh exhibition ( 05.09. 2020 – 31.01.2021) and great contribution into public cultural life in Finland in the very daring circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic, with the special notion of the exhibition’s main organisers, the former director of the Museum Peter Didrichsen and the current director of the Museum Maria Didrichsen.

Director of The Didrichsen Art Museum Maria Didrichsen with previous long-term director, her husband Peter Didrichsen. Courtesy: The Didrichsen Art Museum.

The Morricone family, in memory of Maestro Ennio Morricone, Rome, Italy – for magnificent ongoing contribution into the world culture, brilliant regular performing beloved by the world music of Maestro Morricone despite and during the near impossible realities of covid-19 pandemic, ongoing music education and philanthropy, work in films, records, and books continuing the noble tradition and the way of work of Maestro Ennio Morricone, with special mentioning of Andrea Morricone, Marco and Monica Morricone, and the rest of the Morricone family.

The Morricone family celebrating the memory of Maestro Ennio Morricone, Rome, Italy, 2020. Second from the left conductor and composer Andrea Morricone, second from the right Marco Morricone. Courtesy: The Morricone family.

Writer Grigory Kanovich, Tel-Aviv, IsraelVilnius, Lithuania, and the Kanovich family, Brussels, Belgium, and Toronto, Canada – for deep input into humanity foundation of people and their environment, in its historical perspective and the present day perception. There are not that many living today writers who did contribute into the formation of present day’ humanism in the way as it has been done by Grigory Kanovich in all of many of his literary creations. In continuing the Kanovich family tradition of applied and thoughtful humanism, Grigory and Olga Kanovich’ sons, Sergey and Dmitry Kanovich are contributing into the humanity dimensions of life during many years: Sergey Kanovich ( Belgium) is the author and director of the ongoing unique The Lost Shtetl Museum and Memorial Complex in Seduva, Lithuania; and Dmitri Kanovich ( Canada) is the founder and chairman of the Looking at the Stars unique cultural foundation that provides top-class musical concerts for the inmates of prisons in Canada. The contribution of the Kanovich family into the process projecting Culture for Humanity is unparalleled.

Writer Grigory Kanovich. Courtesy: the Kanovich family.
Founder of the Looking at the Stars foundation Dmitri Kanovich ( on the right) with his brother, founder and director of The Lost Shtetl Museum & Memorial complex Sergey Kanovich. Courtesy: the Kanovich family.

All of our laureates will receive an unique The Rogatchi Foundation Award custom-made in Finland after design of Michael Rogatchi, a special Diploma for all named and noted laureates, and original art awards:

Sinebrychoff Art Museum/Finnish National Gallery – Michael Rogatchi’s Nocturne original art work:

Michael Rogatchi (C). Nocturne. Indian ink, oil pastel on dark-blue hand-made Italian cotton paper. 50 x 35 cm. 2013. The Rogatchi Foundation Culture for Humanity 2020 art award for Sinebrychoff Art Museum/Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Finland.

The Didrichsen Art Museum – Inna Rogatchi’s Thinking on Vincent original art work:

Inna Rogatchi (C). Thinking on Vincent. Watercolour, oil pastel, wax pastel, lapice pastel, crayons Luminance, Chinese red paste, encre l’alcool on authored original archival print on Velin cotton paper. 75 cm x 95 cm. 2020. SpecialThe Rogatchi Foundation Culture for Humanity 2020 art award for The Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland.

The Morricone family – Michael Rogatchi’s Maestro’s View original painting:

Michael Rogatchi (C). Maestro’s View. Original sketch for oil painting. Indian ink, oil pastel on yellow hand-made Italian cotton paper. 65 x 50 cm. 2020. The Rogatchi Foundation Culture for Humanity 2020 art award for the Morricone family, Rome, Italy.

The Kanovich family – Michael Rogatchi’s Memory Light. Homage to Grigory Kanovich original artwork:

Michael Rogatchi (C). Memory Light. Homage to Grigory Kanovich. Oil pastel , crayons Luminance on Inna Rogatchi’s authored original archival print on Velin cotton paper. 50 x 40 cm. 2020. The Rogatchi Foundation Culture for Humanity 2020 art award for Grigory Kanovich and the Kanovich family.

The ceremonies of the Culture for Humanity Award 2020 will be organised later in 2021, in accordance with the pandemic situation.

We will inform about it closer to the dates.

We are cordially congratulating our 2020 laureates and are thanking them all once again for their phenomenal dedication to the cause of humanity and their brilliant cultural achievements in ever-winning combination of Brave Hearts and Talented Minds. Bravo, and Thank You to you all, dear laureates!