Minutes of the 106th meeting of the Museum Council –
November 10, 2011, 1:15 PM – 3:45 PM, meeting room in the National Museum tower
Present: Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, chairman, Helgi Torfason, Halldór B. Runólfsson, Guðný Dóra Gestsdóttir, Jenný Lind Egilsdóttir, Rakel Halldórsdóttir, chairman. Guests at the meeting: Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, master's student in museology at the University of Iceland (internship with the museum council during the period), Frosti Jóhannsson, managing director of the SARPS Management Company.
1. Issues for discussion and decision:
1.0. Minutes of the 105th meeting approved and signed.
1.1. Director's report: Museum Board field trip. Museum Board field trip 2011postponed until spring due to other committee members. Replacement of the position of Managing Director. Ágústa Kristófersdóttir, Exhibition Director of the National Museum of Iceland, will replace the current Director due to maternity leave from April 1 to November 30, 2012. Bruun Rasmussen – export of Icelandic cultural assets. There are still a few artifacts in the custody of the company Päkkun og lakstavkar ehf., which are scheduled to be transported to Denmark by the Danish auction company Bruun Rasmussen. No export permit has been applied for for any of the artifacts. Export of cultural property to the United States. RH together with Ólafur Ingi Jónsson, curator at the National Gallery of Iceland, removed Icelandic art objects by the Old Masters that were to be transported to the United States. ÓIJ's assessment was that the objects did not fall under Act No. 105/2001 on the export of cultural property and therefore it was not necessary to apply for a permit to export them. National Audit Office audit of the Icelandic Museum of Natural History. The National Audit Office has begun a formal audit of the Icelandic Museum of Natural History and its funding. It has interviewed HT and RH and plans to interview additional parties. Applications for the museum fund for the year 2012. The application deadline has passed. A number of applications have been received. There have once again been problems with the electronic application form despite improvements. National Gallery of Iceland – overall strategy in the field of visual arts 2012-2016. The National Gallery of Iceland has formally begun drafting a comprehensive strategy for the field of visual arts for 2012-2016 in accordance with the Museums Act. RH will be involved in the project on behalf of the Museums Council in accordance with an agreement with the Icelandic Museums Association. Autumn meeting of art museums 2011. The National Gallery of Iceland hosted an autumn meeting of art museums on October 31. Among other things, a comprehensive strategy for the field of fine arts was presented, which will be developed in collaboration with art museums around the country, and adaptation of SARPI 3 for art museums was discussed, but art museums generally welcomed the potential use of the registration system. Copyright issues of collections. ÁK is in charge of the project, the project councils are temporarily with the Museum Council. The matter is progressing well. Discussions have been ongoing with the Ministry of Education and Culture about its involvement in financial support for museums to publish copyrighted material online. Export of the chessboard used by Fischer and Spassky. An inquiry was received as to whether there was reason to apply for a permit to export one of the chessboards used by Fischer and Spassky in their duel. The board is owned by Páll G. Jónsson. The matter was brought before Lilja Árnadóttir, Director of the Museum of Icelandic Antiquities, but she did not consider it necessary to apply for a special permit to export the board, as the main board from the duel is preserved in the National Museum of Iceland.
1.2. Frosti Jóhannsson's presentation at SARPI 3. Frosti Jóhannsson, Managing Director of SARPS, introduced SARP 3, which has been in development for the past few months. There was general satisfaction with the registration system among the trustees and the possibilities that this new update has to offer.
1.3. New look for the Museum Council's websites. Presented new ideas from the designer for the new look of the Museum Council website and the söfn.is site, in accordance with comments from the last meeting. Approved to request minor changes to the look.
1.4. Coordinated museum visitor survey – next steps. ÁK is in charge of the project, the project councils are temporarily with the Museum Council. The situation was reviewed, the survey was submitted in July, good participation among museums. The results of the July survey are expected. The October survey was not submitted as planned because the project was over budget. This was due to inaccurate plans by the company responsible for preparing and running the survey. It is anticipated that the project will no longer be part of the Museum Council's activities with the new Museum Act on January 1, 2013. The future of the project was discussed with regard to the Museum Council's finances and future projects. It was agreed to request proposals from ÁK on the future of the project.
2. Papers for discussion and decision.
2.1. Statement from ICOM regarding the Blue Shield project. A message was received from ICOM requesting the Museum Council's cooperation on the Blue Shield project and financial support for the project. Positive discussion, the Museum Council is ready to participate in cooperation. In accordance with the Museum Act, financial support will not be in the form of a grant from the Museum Fund, but possibly with the Museum Council's participation in the project. Cooperation and financial support depend on how the project develops.
2.2. Georg Ólafsson's application for the export of art objects to auction at Bruun Rasmussen in Denmark. A letter was received from Georg Ólafsson requesting permission to export the artworks to be auctioned at Bruun Rasmussen in Denmark. An expert opinion was sought from ÓIJ at the National Gallery of Iceland, but in his opinion he suggests, in light of Act No. 105/2001, that the export of one of the works be opposed. Georg Ólafsson contacted him before the meeting and has decided to cancel the export of the works.
2.3. Application by Sigurlaug Guðrún Gunnarsdóttir for the export of a drawing by Kjarval to be auctioned at Bruun Rasmussen in Denmark. A letter was received from Sigurlaug Guðrún Gunnarsdóttir requesting permission to export a drawing by Kjarval to auction at Bruun Rasmussen in Denmark. An expert opinion was sought from ÓIJ at the National Gallery of Iceland, but in his opinion he is not opposed to export. Approval to grant permission to export the work.
2.4. Message from Vesturbyggð – appointment of a representative from the museum council to a committee on the future of the Egils Ólafsson Museum. Discussed the request from Vesturbyggð to appoint a representative to the committee on the future of the Egils Ólafsson Museum. Approved that RH/ÁK take on the role.
2.5. Application by Guðrún Ölda Gísladóttir for permission to export textiles from archaeological excavations for research purposes. A letter was received from Guðrún Ölda Gísladóttir requesting permission to export textiles from archaeological excavations for research purposes. Comments were requested from experts at the Icelandic Archaeological Conservation Agency, who did not oppose the export, and from the National Museum of Iceland, who recommended against the requested authorization since it involves a large amount of excavated remains for examination and analysis that can easily be carried out in this country. It was agreed to utilize the authorization of Act No. 105/2001 and oppose the export, cf. an expert's assessment. In accordance with the law, a formal position will be sought from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
2.6. Application by Guðrún Sveinbjarnardóttir for a permit to export textiles from archaeological excavations for research purposes. A letter was received from Guðrún Sveinbjarnardóttir requesting a several-month extension of the permit for the export of textile samples from archaeological excavations that have been for research abroad. Comments were requested from experts at the Icelandic Archaeological Conservation Agency and the National Museum of Iceland. The comments from both were positive. It was agreed to extend the permit until 10 April 2012. The permit will not be extended beyond that.
3. Other issues
Other issues:
1) FÍSOS's review of the company's role and organization. A consultative group on the review of the role of FÍSOS is in place. The group consists of GDG, Anna Þorbjörg Þorgrímsdóttir, Arndís Bergsdóttir and Bergsveinn Þórsson. The association is examining the possibility of hiring an employee to handle the administration of the association's affairs. The association plans to apply for a grant for the employee's salary to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and is working on a report. The possibility of an employee of the association being given a position at the Museum Council was discussed.
RH sent FÍSOS a list of the Museum Council's consultation projects in connection with the planned organizational changes to the company's operations. It is anticipated that the Museum Council's projects in the field of the Museum Consultation Forum may not continue to be part of the Council's activities when the new Museum Act comes into force on 1 January 2013.
FÍSOS will encourage museums to become institutional members of the association with higher membership fees.
The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12:15, the meeting adjourned at 3:45 PM/RH