Minutes of the 58th meeting of the Museum Council, April 4, 2007, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., National Gallery of Iceland, Laufásvegur 12, 101 Reykjavík
Present were: Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, Jón Gunnar Ottósson, Halldór Björn Runólfsson, Karl Rúnar Þórsson, Rakel Halldórsdóttir, Lilja Árnadóttir (present for part of the meeting).
1. The minutes of the 56th meeting were approved and signed. The signing of the minutes of the 57th meeting will be completed at the next meeting.
2. Report of the Managing Director. Museums Council's symposium on electronic access to cultural heritage and natural monuments March 14, 2007 was a success and well attended. It is hoped that the symposium will contribute to further discussion and development in this field. John Steinberg's application for a permit to export cultural property, from 2005. A discussion was held about a request received by the Museum Council in 2005, a request for permission to export cultural property, but the sender of the request has not been contacted and it is uncertain whether the export took place, but permission was not granted as the information was insufficient. The Minister of Culture was instructed to continue trying to contact the sender of the request. New Chairman of the Museum Council, Vice Chairman and Chief Representative of the Main Museum in the Field of ArtThe new chairman of the Museum Council is Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, National Museum Curator, who has been appointed chairman from 1 March 2007 to 1 November 2009. Margrét was previously chairman of the Museum Council from 15 September 2001 to 19 January 2004. The new vice-chairman from 1 March 2007 to 1 November 2009 is Karl Rúnar Þórsson, chairman of the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors. The new chief representative of the main museum in the field of art is Halldór Björn Runólfsson, director of the National Gallery of Iceland, appointed for the same period.European Museum of the Year Award 2008Nomination documents have been submitted for the nomination of Reykjavík Museum for the Settlement Exhibition 871 +/-2 for the European Museum Awards 2008. Representatives of the competition's jury will visit the museum later this year.Museum Studies at the University of Iceland. A collaborative group on the development of a master's degree program in museum studies at the University of Iceland, led by the Vice-Chancellor, has sent a letter to the University of Iceland board requesting that the University of Iceland launch the program. This decision was made following an agreement between the Ministry of Education and Culture and the University of Iceland on teaching and research, which stipulates a 300 million. kr. increase in donations to the University in 2007 and a 640 million. kr. increase per year in the following years. The letter is still being discussed by the university board.
3. 2007 Meeting Agenda. The 2007 meeting agenda, which was confirmed electronically, was approved with a minor change.
4. General meeting of the European Museum Forum 2007 in Alicante in May. A proposal was discussed that the Chairman of the Museum Council attend the meeting instead of the Director General, who is the formal contact person for EMF in Iceland. It was agreed to send the Chairman of the Museum Council to the meeting.
5. Procedures for the export of cultural property. Revised procedures for the export of cultural property were presented, in accordance with the decision of the 57th meeting.
6. Museum Council website – results of the working group. The Executive Director called a meeting of a working group to review the Museum Council website, which is composed of experts from several museums in the field of communication and education. The following attended: Rakel Pétursdóttir, Head of the Education Department at the National Gallery of Iceland, Sigrún Kristjánsdóttir, Head of Museum Education at the National Museum of Iceland, Ólöf K. Sigurðardóttir, Head of the Education Department at the Reykjavík Art Museum, Sigrún Ásta Jónsdóttir, Director of the Reykjanesbær Museum and Anna Þorbjörg Þorgrímsdóttir, who will replace Ms. Þorbjörg Þorgrímsdóttir while on maternity leave. The planned changes to the list of institutions involved in museum work on the Museum Council website were discussed in accordance with the results of the 57th meeting. The working group suggested that there be a special URL for this list, which will also be accessible outside the Museum Council website. The URL should be a catchy slogan (example: www.sofnfyriralla.isThe museum board approved the idea.
7. ICOM's Clarifications and Code of Ethics. Lilja Árnadóttir, Chair of the Icelandic Section of ICOM (International Council of Museums), explained the activities of ICOM. There is a desire to strengthen ties with ICOM and to clarify and strengthen ICOM's role as a guide in museum work, with the aim of strengthening professional museum work in the country. The Executive Director was tasked with discussing with the Icelandic Section the implementation of further cooperation. Among other things, it will be reviewed whether there is reason for the Museum Council to seek institutional membership of ICOM, if so, the Minister will then contact the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, which will make a decision on such membership.
8. Natural History Museums – applications for project grants to the Museum Fund for 2006 and 2007 for a registration system for natural history museums. Pursuant to the decision of the 57th meeting, it was agreed to entrust the Icelandic Institute of Natural History with submitting a proposal to the Museums Council on a course for the project. The proposal from the Natural History Museum was discussed, but it provides for the continued development of the project and the Museums Council to provide funding for it. The Managing Director was instructed to attend a meeting with representatives of the Kópavogur Institute of Natural History, who applied for project grants on behalf of natural history museums this year, and representatives of the Institute of Natural History, to discuss the project and the conditions for providing funding. The Museum Council agreed to grant the project a grant, provided that the Council's conditions for the grant are met, which include that it must be a collaborative project between all natural history museums in the country aimed at developing a unified registration system for these museums and that a new application with a project and cost plan be submitted that the Council approves. Furthermore, in accordance with the provisions of the Museum Council's allocation rules, a report will be submitted on the utilization of the funds and results. The matter will be submitted for final approval at a meeting of the Council when the required documents are available.
9. Next meeting and other matters.
The next meeting according to the new meeting schedule is May 9th.
Other issues:
- Message from the chairman of the Hveragerði Town Council regarding the closure of the Kristján Runólfsson Museum. Kristján Runólfsson intends to sell the Museum's collection on the open market and requests the support of the Museum Council in saving the cultural treasures in question. The executive director was instructed to obtain further information on the matter and to point out to the Árnesingi Museum that it was important for the museum to take action to resolve this issue by purchasing the collection or in some other way.
- Presentation regarding the Vestmannaeyjar Regional Museum. A presentation was presented by the director of the Vestmannaeyjar Regional Museum, who is currently undergoing extensive structural changes at the Vestmannaeyjar Museum and whose future is uncertain. The Museum Board will monitor developments.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 1:30 PM/RH.