Welcome to the Museums Council website

The Museum Council oversees museum activities in Iceland, works on policy for museum work, discusses museum charters and accreditations, and provides opinions on grant applications to the museum fund.
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About the Museum Council

The main role of the Museum Council is to supervise museum activities in the country, work on policy for museum work, discuss museum charters and accreditations, and provide opinions on grant applications to the museum fund.

Museum Fund

The role of the Museum Fund is to strengthen the activities of museums that fall under the Museums Act. To that end, the Fund may support the operations and define the projects of recognized museums and collaborative projects between such museums.

Accredited museums

The Museum Council sets conditions regarding housing, security, accessibility, registration systems and professional work that museums must meet in order to receive recognition from the Museum Council.

News and announcements

Árlegur samráðsfundur ráðherra og fagfélaga í safnastarfi

Í byrjun sumars 25. júní fór fram árlegur samráðsfundur menningar-, nýsköpunar- og háskólaráðherra og fagfélaga safnastarfs í húsakynnum Safnaráðs að Austurstræti 5. Samráðsfundur er eins til tveggja klukkutíma staðfundur sem boðaður er að jafnaði einu sinni á ári og er til þess fallinn að eiga samtal um málefni safnastarfs. Fundurinn er haldinn samkvæmt  7.gr. safnalaga …

Application for recognition of a museum according to the Museums Act

Opið fyrir umsóknir til 30. september 2025 Safnaráð minnir á að síðasti skiladagur umsókna um viðurkenningu samkvæmt safnalögum nr. 141/2011 er 30. september 2025. Allar upplýsingar um umsóknir má finna hér: https://safnarad.is/vidurkennd-sofn/umsokn-um-vidurkenningu/ 

Sumarlokun safnaráðs frá 7. júlí – 5. ágúst

Skrifstofa safnaráðs verður lokuð vegna sumarleyfa frá og með mánudeginum 7. júlí til 5. ágúst. Ef erindið er brýnt má ná í Þóru Björk Ólafsdóttur framkvæmdastjóra safnaráðs í síma 820-5450. Við minnum ferðalanga á að hægt er að heimsækja söfn hvar sem er á landinu og á heimasíðu okkar má finna kort sem sýnir staðsetningu …

Málþing: Framtíð safna í síbreytilegum samfélögum

Alþjóðlegi safnadagurinn er haldinn hátíðlegur 18. maí ár hvert en ICOM, Alþjóðaráð safna, hefur staðið fyrir deginum síðan árið 1977.Í tilefni dagsins halda Safnaráð, Íslandsdeild ICOM og FÍSOS árleg málþing sem tengist yfirskrift dagsins. Íslandsdeild ICOM, FÍSOS og Safnaráð buðu til málþingsins 21. maí síðastliðinn í Þjóðminjasafninu, en þar var meðal annars fjallað um söfn …

Alþjóðlegi safnadagurinn 2025

Í tilefni Alþjóðlega safnadagsins 2025 fer fram málþing miðvikudaginn 21. maí í fyrirlestrasal Þjóðminjasafn Íslands.  Í heimi sem er á sífelldri hreyfingu og átök verða sífellt meira áberandi býður þema safnadagsins í ár, Framtíð safna í síbreytilegum samfélögum, okkur að huga að hlutverki og umhverfi safna í þessu tilliti. Íslandsdeild ICOM, FÍSOS og Safnaráð bjóða …

Cultural resources of tourism

The Creative Industries Research Centre (CIR) is hosting the conference Cultural Resources in Tourism, a conference on cultural tourism and a new tourism strategy until 2030 on May 14 in Hof, Akureyri. The conference is being held in collaboration with the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre (RMF) and the project received funding from Hvati, a fund of the Ministry of Culture and Trade. The conference will also be attended by a number of parties from the cultural sector and the tourism industry. The aim of the conference …

New museum board appointed

The Minister of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education has appointed a new Museum Council, whose term of office is 1 February 2025 – 31 January 2029. The Council consists of: General representatives Vilhjálmur Bjarnason, chairman, appointed without nomination Gunnhildur Ásta Guðmundsdóttir vice chairman, appointed without nomination Guðrún Dröfn Whitehead, nominated by the Icelandic Section of ICOM, the International Council of Museums Hlynur Hallsson, nominated by the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors Jóhanna Erli …

Response plans of recognized museums

Prevention and response plans play a key role in securing our cultural heritage for the future, and it is therefore important that every museum has a response plan that outlines how to respond to an impending disaster in order to avert shocks. All cultural institutions should prepare response plans for emergencies. This includes recognized museums in Iceland, which should …

Main allocation of the museum fund 2025

The Minister of Culture has allocated funds from the main allocation of the Museum Fund 2025 The Museum Council's allocation ceremony took place in the Picture Hall of the National Museum of Iceland on Friday, February 14, at a ceremonial ceremony attended by distinguished guests. Minister of Culture Logi Einarsson addressed the guests and allocated 129 grants, a total of 217,159,500 krónur from the Museum Fund. There were 114 one-year grants totaling 163,259,500 krónur to 47 beneficiaries. Excellence Grants 2025 – …