Policy on museum work was approved in June 2021 by Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Education and Culture en stefnumörkunin var unnin í samstarfi safnaráðs og höfuðsafnanna þriggja, Listasafns Íslands, NáttúruminjasafnsÍslands og Þjóðminjasafns Íslands. Samkvæmt safnalögum nr. 141/2011 er eitt hlutverk safnaráðs að vinna að stefnumörkun um safnastarf í samvinnu við höfuðsöfn og skal samþykkt af ráðherra.
Guiding light Policy on museum work are:
It is the collective responsibility of society to protect the country's cultural and natural heritage, promote professional interaction, and ensure equal access to the heritage.
Museums actively participate in social debate, they take the lead and create dialogue on socially important issues. Strong connections between museums, museum resources and society provide driving force and value creation.
Museums play an important role in education, understanding and awareness of cultural and natural heritage. Museum human resources play a key role in this.
Museums collaborate closely with each other and with a variety of parties, both domestically and internationally.
Museums preserve primary sources about the country's culture, history, and nature and provide access to them for the advancement of research, for the acquisition of knowledge, and for enjoyment.
Museums are socially responsible, they consider sustainability in all areas of museum work, and are a platform for innovation.
Museums operate according to the Code of Ethics of ICOM, the International Council of Museums.
At the beginning of 2019, a steering group was established to review the strategy, and in December 2020, Policy on museum work prepared and sent to the Minister for approval.
The steering group included:
Harpa Þórsdóttir, Director of the National Gallery of Iceland, on behalf of the National Gallery of Iceland
Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, Director of RÚV and representative on the Museum Council, on behalf of the Museum Council
Hilmar Malmquist, Director of the Icelandic Museum of Natural History, on behalf of the Icelandic Museum of Natural History
Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, National Museum Curator, on behalf of the National Museum of Iceland
Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Director of the Museums Council, on behalf of the Museums Council
Safnaráð og höfuðsöfnin unnu að stefnumörkuninni undir stjórn consulting firm See sem hafði umsjón með verkþáttum stefnumörkunarinnar f.h. safnaráðs og í góðu samstarfi við fagaðila í safnastarfi, m.a. safnstjóra viðurkenndra safna og ríkissafna, sem og aðra hagaðila í safnastarfi.
The strategy was developed through detailed data collection and analysis, and the strategy was based on internal work and data, legislation, and comparable policies at other domestic and foreign cultural institutions. Policy on museum work will be useful to the museum sector, ministries, state and local administration, museum councils, central museums and all museums, both recognized and other museum activities, but last but not least, museum owners.
The Museum Council would like to thank all the many people who participated in discussions, review meetings and surveys about the strategy, and we look forward to continuing to have a good conversation about the next steps, including an action plan and how the strategy can benefit museums in the country and their support institutions.
National Gallery of Iceland - Coordinated collection policy for art museums
National Gallery of Iceland,a major museum in the field of fine arts, shallin accordance with the Museums Act no. 141/2011 and the Fine Arts Act No. 64/2012, provide advice to other art museums, promote cooperation between art museums and work towards a coordinated museum policy in the field of fine arts.
"The purpose and role of the policy is to sharpen the common vision of art museums so that their managers are all heading in the same direction. Art museums in Iceland are built on a similar foundation. They have in common that they own and preserve registered collection assets that are exhibited to some extent, and they all emphasize holding new exhibitions regularly. The uniqueness of art museums lies primarily in the number of special exhibitions each year, different specialization of human resources, and various unique positions regarding collection policy or collection options. Art museums are therefore diverse, and this includes opportunities for cooperation, sharing, and a strong flow of information and knowledge transfer. Museum policy in the field of fine arts also creates a basis for greater collaboration, which is a great strength for art museums and their projects. By looking to a coordinated museum policy in the field of fine arts, individual art museums can set a clearer direction for their own work, the uniqueness of each art museum becomes more obvious, and the division of labor can become clearer." (on the role of the policy, from its website).
National Museum of Iceland - Museum policy in the field of cultural heritage
National Museum of Iceland published Museum policy in the field of cultural heritage in 2017, which was the third edition of the policy. The policy is intended to be a guiding light for the activities cultural heritageestablish in the country and promote professionalism and the advancement of museum work. The National Museum is required, according to the Museums Act No. 141/2011 and the Act on the National Museum of Iceland No. 140/2011, to develop a coordinated museum policy in the field of cultural heritage.
Icelandic Heritage Institute - Cultural Heritage - Preservation and Accessibility Policy
Policy on museum work is the second of two cultural heritage policies that were approved in June 2021, but the policy "Cultural Heritage - a policy for preservation and accessibility" was also approved, which was prepared under the leadership of the Icelandic National Heritage Institute and in accordance with the provisions of the Cultural Heritage Act. The Executive Director of the Museums Council sat on the steering committee of that policy on behalf of the Council.
Preparatory work for strategic planning 2013 - 2015
Preparatory work on the strategy of the Museum Council and the main museums was carried out in the years 2013–2015. A working group worked on a draft strategy for the Museum Council and the main museums, but According to the Museums Act, the role of the Museum Council is to work on policy for museum work in collaboration with the main museums,which is sent to the minister for approval. The working group included Anna Lísa Rúnarsdóttir from the National Museum of Iceland, Rakel Pétursdóttir from the National Gallery of Iceland, Sigurjón Baldur Hafsteinsson from the Department of Museology at the University of Iceland, and Haraldur Þór Egilsson, a representative of the Museum Council, who was also the chairman of the group. The group's employee was the Managing Director of the Museum Council. The group consulted with museum professionals from around the country and other stakeholders on the policy's emphases. In its search for inspiration, the working group examined reports and policy statements from numerous parties, and links to some of the material can be found on this page. The group submitted proposals to the Museum Council in April 2014, and they were then worked on further within the Museum Council and in collaboration with the main museums. A proposal for the Museum Council's policy statement was approved in September 2015 and sent to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science for review.
The main museums are now working on strategic planning, each in their own field of expertise, which the museum council is also involved in.
The National Museum of Iceland has won Museum policy in the field of cultural heritage and was published in 2017. It is the third edition of the museum's cultural heritage policy to be published by the museum.
Reading materials regarding policy in the field of museum work:
Cultural policy – parliamentary resolution proposal approved on March 7, 2013
