Minister of Culture Oversees the Launch of an Exhibition to Showcase Tudor Jericho’s Painting on Mauritania

The Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament, Spokesperson of the Government, Houssein Ould Medou, on Wednesday evening at the Diplomatic Academy, presided over the launch of an exhibition to introduce the painting of Mauritania by Theodore Jericho.

During the visit, the Minister and his accompanying delegation toured the wings of the exhibition on memorial paintings of the country and received thorough explanations of the paintings on display and how they relate to the history of Mauritania.

By organising this event, the Ministry seeks to gather the fragments of Mauritanian memory scattered in many parts of the world, as well as an opportunity to learn about Mauritanian history and society during the 19th century, through the artwork created by the world-renowned artist.

In his speech on the occasion, the Minister expressed his happiness to attend this exhibition, which is considered one of the stations of integration between the bodies active in the cultural field, to collect more national heritage scattered around the world.

He praised the role played by the owner of the painting, stressing that this is part of a project launched by the ministry related to cultural diplomacy, with the aim of further valorising and preserving the national heritage, whether it exists or what others have written, adding that the painting is a model that reflects the openness, authenticity and values of the society.

He stressed the Ministry’s interest in the cultural diplomacy project, noting that the first point of the project was to think about re-exploring the country’s archaeological and heritage explorations through all Mauritanian regions that are sites of former civilisations and societies to revive them, as well as restoring all libraries and monuments associated with Mauritania in the Arab, Islamic and African worlds.

He pointed out that the Ministry’s role is to motivate and encourage all researchers and workers in the private sector to achieve the required symbiosis to preserve the national heritage and heritage, praising the level of integration between the various bodies interested in cultural affairs, explaining that the Ministry will continue to support them to continue collecting heritage at the national and international level, encouraging researchers and motivating them to these efforts.

He thanked all researchers interested in the cultural affairs and history of the country, praising their achievements in this field.

Mr Sid Ahmed Ould El Amir, a businessman, spoke about the importance of the painting, stressing that it contains part of the timeless history of the country, explaining that the painting, dated  back to  1817, focused on Mauritania and the life of the people in that period.

For his part, Mr Mohamed Mahmoud Lakhal, the owner of the painting, explained the path that led him to acquire the painting and the challenges he faced, stressing that its importance and the history of Mauritania made him insist on acquiring it despite all the challenges.