Minutes of the 29th meeting of the Museum Council, April 23, 2004, 11:30-13:30, National Gallery of Iceland, Laufásvegur 12, 101 Reykjavík
Present were: Ólafur Kvaran, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, Álfheiður Ingadóttir, Sigrún Ásta Jónsdóttir and Rakel Halldórsdóttir.
1. The minutes of the 27th and 28th meetings were approved and signed.
2. Report of the Executive Director. The Executive Director reported on the activities of the Council since the last meeting. The Executive Director will visit the Cultural Heritage Agency in Copenhagen from 28 to 30 April to learn about Denmark's implementation of the Danish Museums Act, definitions in connection with the Museums Act, the Danish allocation system for government grants to museums, etc. It was agreed to request an ID number for the Museums Council as problems have arisen in this regard with the daily operation of the institution. It was agreed that a mobile phone would be purchased for the Executive Director to use in his work.
3. Reactions to the 2004 allocation. The presentations were discussed by the Reykjavík Art Museum, the Reykjavík Museum of Art, the Reykjavík Museum of Photography, the Icelandic Toy Museum, the ASÍ Art Museum, the Sveins Museum, the Nonnahús, the Rjómabús in Baugsstaðir and a letter from the cultural representative of Akureyri to the Akureyri Art Museum.
The submissions of the Reykjavík Art Museum, the Reykjavík Museum of Art, the Reykjavík Museum of Photography, the Icelandic Toy Museum, the Sveinssafn, the Nonnahús and the Rjómabúsinn á Baugsstaðir Museum were considered. It was agreed, based on new information, to grant the Reykjavík Art Museum 700 thousand. kr. project grant. The justification for the submissions of the Reykjavík Museum of Art and the Reykjavík Museum of Photography was approved. It was agreed, based on new information, to grant the Icelandic Toy Museum 1500 thousand. kr. operating grant. It was agreed, based on new information, that the Nonnahús and the Sveinssafn fell under the Museums Act and it was decided to grant each institution 200 thousand kr. project grant. The justification for the submission of the Rjómabúsinn á Baugsstaðir Museum was approved. It was decided to obtain further information and postpone the processing of the ASÍ Art Museum's report and the issue of the Akureyri Art Museum until the next meeting.
4. Grant disbursement. It was agreed to maintain the current form of grant disbursement.
5. Nodem conference in Iceland 2005. It was agreed to refer FÍSOS's request for cooperation in the Nodem conference in Iceland 2005 to the National Gallery of Iceland and the National Museum of Iceland. The project was considered too extensive for the Museums Council's office, which has one employee.
6. Collaboration between the Museum Council and Statistics Iceland on statistical registration of museums. It was agreed to strengthen the flow of information between the Museum Council and Statistics Iceland.
7. Spokesperson for EMF in Iceland. It was agreed to refer the matter to the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors.
8. Guidelines for self-assessment of museums. It was agreed to present the guidelines on the Museums Council's website.
9. Next meeting and other matters. No other matters were discussed. The next meeting according to the meeting schedule is May 27th, but it was agreed to meet the next time in the first week of May.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 1:30 PM/RH.