As part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Montevideo and the 20th anniversary of MAPI, the exhibition “Mariano is Montevideo” is a tribute to the man who, from his position as Mayor of Montevideo, made possible the installation and permanence of the museum due to his concern for the rescue and protection of historic buildings in the city.

Beyond his fundamental participation in the genesis and existence of this museum, it should be noted that architect Mariano Arana was always involved as a member of the MAPI Foundation, becoming its president in the final stage of his life.

In view of the above, MAPI has taken the initiative to organize, as part of the commemoration of Montevideo’s 300th anniversary and one year after his passing, an exhibition in homage to Mariano Arana, to commemorate and celebrate his career in the various fields in which he played an outstanding role.

To make this project viable and enable its execution with the utmost excellence, MAPI has partnered with the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism of the University of the Republic (FADU), from which it has requested support in different aspects of design and content. In this way, it will have the valuable contribution of the Institute of History and the institution’s design and publications office, which today holds not only an important legacy of Arana’s, recently donated by his family, but also the complete archive of the Urban Studies Group (GEU) and other original documentary repositories.

The curatorship is in the hands of Prof. Arch. Salvador Schelotto, who, in addition to his personal friendship with Arana, worked directly with him as a collaborator at the faculty and during his two terms at the head of the Municipality of Montevideo. The exhibition “Mariano is Montevideo” deserves to be one of the key events in this year of celebration.

For the gathering of documents, images, objects, and materials to be exhibited, we already have the collaboration and generous contribution of many people and institutions with which Arana was connected and which hold valuable items to exhibit: Ediciones de la Banda Oriental, FADU, Sociedad de Arquitectos del Uruguay, Centro de Fotografía de la IM, TV Ciudad, Servicio de Comunicación de la IM, architect Rafael Lorente, and the Arana family.