On December 19th 2011, members of the Lithuanian government and parliament, foreign dignitaries, and many distinsguished public figures from Lithuania gathered together for the meaningful and special ceremony of the opening of the Public Jewish Library in Vilnius. This kind of institution has been opened in the Lithunian capital for the first time since WWII.
Among those who addressed the public at the inaugural opening of the Vilnius Public Jewish Library were the Prime Minister of Lithuania Andris Kubilius, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commttee of the Lithuanian Seimas Dr Emanuelis Zingeris, key personality for the project’s realisation the high-profile Lithuanian MP Petras Austrevicius, Minister of Culture of Lithuania Arunas Gelunas who played a pivotal role in the project’s development; head of the presidential chancellery Deividas Matulionis, chairman of the Civic Society Foundation renowned Lithuanian philosopher Dr Darius Kuolys; the Councillor of the USA Embassy Annie Hall, as well as others.
Special attention was given to the speech of Wyman Brent, the American cultural personality who was the author of the idea and the project of the Public Jewish Library in Vilnius, and who has worked very hard for several years for the realisation of his dream.
The Rogatchi Foundation has been an active participant in the noble task of the founding of this cultural and public institution. The Foundation has donated a lot of literature to the Library, as well as various art productions. The Foundation also was very active in promoting the Library project internationally and gathering more support from various institutions and personalities world-wide.
Responding to the Library Committee’s request, Michael Rogatchi created a special painting for the Library, and donated it during the ceremony. According to the Library Committee’s decision, this is the only oil painting which will be exhibited in the Library permanently.
Inna Rogatchi has created a series of fine art photography POWER OF LIGHT, which she has donated to the Library. The inagural opening of the collection has happened during the opening ceremony of the Library. 15 works from that unique collection are decorating the Library’s walls and are on display there permanently.