On the occasion of International Museum Day on May 18, nominations for the 2012 Museum Awards are announced.
The Museum Award is presented every two years to a museum that is considered to have excelled or has notably addressed the challenges facing museums. Three museums are nominated for the award, which was presented at Bessastaðir on Icelandic Museum Day, which this year will be on July 8th.
The jury has now nominated the following museums and projects for the 2012 Museum Awards: The South Þingeyingi Museum, for the renovation of the main exhibition in the Museum House in Húsavík, the Einar Jónsson Art Museum for a comprehensive website well-connected to the museum's role and goals, the Research and Conservation Department of the National Museum of Iceland, for the Handbook on the Conservation of Museum Collections.
The Icelandic Section of ICOM (International Council of Museums) and the Icelandic Museums and Collectors Association are jointly organizing the awards. This is the eighth time they have been presented, with the most recent award going to the Living Art Museum in Reykjavík, among other things, for publishing, disseminating and registering exceptional museum holdings.
The jury is composed of the members of the association, in addition to the museum that most recently received the award, which has a representative on the committee. Proposals are advertised from the public, and this year more than forty proposals were received. The jury's comments on the three museums are detailed and well-reasoned.
From the jury's comments on the three projects:
South Þingeyingi Regional Museum, Þingeyingi Cultural Center for the renovation of the main exhibition in the Museum House in Húsavík.
The main exhibition Humanity and Nature – 100 Years in Þingeyjarsýslar was opened in the South Þingeyjarsýslar Museum in the Museum House in Húsavík in June 2010. The opening of the exhibition marked the end of extensive changes at the Museum House. Instead of the traditional separation of culture and nature, the chosen approach is to draw a picture of the history of the settlement in the interaction of man and nature. Cultural monuments and natural artifacts are placed in a new and exciting context. The result is interesting and natural.
The exhibition focuses on the final period of the "old farming community". The Laxá River, with farms along the river from its source to the sea, flows like a lifeline through the exhibition, connecting it and sharpening the emphasis on the interaction and mutual influence of man and nature, where the specific characteristics of the area and the use of nature are well understood. Local characteristics and natural conditions are presented, and text panels contain stories from local people that shed light on the struggle for life and self-sufficiency of the people in the period 1850-1950. The basic theme is given by dividing the subject into the stone kingdom, the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom in large display cases according to old tradition.
The exhibition layout is thoughtful and attractive. The exhibition space is conveniently new and parts of the exhibition can be easily replaced without redesign. In the center of the exhibition hall are islands where exhibits and detailed texts discuss selected aspects of human life. From the main hall of the exhibition, there are smaller rooms that arouse the curiosity of visitors. Each of them deals with a specific theme. There, as in other parts of the exhibition, man-made objects and natural objects are intertwined together, along with photographs and other visual material. A special room, intended for children, is dedicated to nature spirits.
Behind the exhibition lies the conceptual work of a group of diverse individuals who are known for treading unconventional paths in creation and interpretation. That work resulted in a diverse and fresh approach and more perspectives than is often seen in exhibitions of this nature. For example, all exhibition texts are translated into English, not just abstracts as is often the case. The translation is high-quality and there are no flaws to be found. The exhibition catalogue is particularly elegant and well-crafted, adorned with a number of beautiful images and makes the ideology behind the exhibition very clear.
Einar Jónsson Art Museum for a content-rich website well-connected to the museum's mission and goals
Sculptor Einar Jónsson initiated the Icelandic state to build a museum of his work at Skólavörðuholt. The Einar Jónsson Art Museum was opened to the public in 1923 and is almost 90 years old. Einar's idea was that the museum and the works in it form a whole, where each work is a link in a total experience for the viewer.
In the 1980s, a sculpture garden was added to the museum and Einar's work was made available on its grounds. The museum was also significantly modified. In recent years, work has been carried out within the Einar Jónsson Art Museum to restore the interior of the museum to its original state. This is an extensive project that is being carried out in stages, in parallel with making the museum itself and Einar's art accessible to the public. This is a major challenge for the museum, as the building is listed and difficult to access, and Einar's will sets the boundaries in many matters.
The museum's new website, www.lej.is, is a milestone in the effort to make the building and Einar's art accessible in an interesting way and provides a good picture of the history of the museum itself, which is connected to the artist's ideology. The website contains a lot of material and is expected to continue developing. Various sources about Einar and his art are made accessible, thus giving scholars and laypeople an insight into the artist's mind and the career behind the works in the museum and in the garden. Texts and video recordings combine an art historian's informative descriptions of some of Einar's most important works with the thoughts of general museum visitors related to their experience of the same works. Similarly, the site features video recordings from the tower apartment of Einar and his wife Anna, which are intended to increase public access to that part of the museum building.
The website is very accessible and easy to use. It is beautifully designed and well done, with texts in both Icelandic and English. It then has a good introduction and introduction to the museum.
Research and Conservation Department of the National Museum of Iceland for the Handbook on the Preservation of Museum Collections.
Museum activities revolve around the preservation and research of diverse collections, including works of art, antiquities, books, natural objects, photographs and manuscripts from all periods of Icelandic history. Preventive conservation seeks to slow the natural deterioration of collections and thus prevent irreversible damage. This includes proper handling of the collections and good packaging. It also requires careful monitoring of the environment in which the collections are kept, whether in storage or exhibition halls. In addition to controlling the amount of light, temperature and humidity, contingency plans must be in place to ensure the correct response and safety of the collections in unexpected situations that may arise from nature.
All museums need to systematically apply these preventive conservation methods to protect their collections from damage. For years, the Department of Conservation at the National Museum of Iceland has been working to increase the knowledge of collectors about preventive conservation methods and the importance of proper handling of museum objects. The bar has been raised. In recent years, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have repeatedly threatened the nation's cultural heritage, while also demonstrating the importance of well-prepared response plans and cooperation between collectors in rescue and cleanup. Under these circumstances, the importance of preventive conservation in ensuring the safety of the collection has become clear. In this regard, the Department of Conservation at the National Museum of Iceland has played a guiding and leading role, and all the work has been carried out under the strong leadership of its employees.
The Handbook on the Preservation of Collections is a good example of the efforts of the curators of the National Museum of Iceland to share their knowledge and thus ensure the long-term preservation and security of the nation's collection. This publication is therefore important for all museums in the country. The book is based on Icelandic conditions and part of the book is original, while the curators and various experts have translated and localized the rest. The handbook is published electronically and it is expected that further information will be added, in addition to the numerous links to additional material on the World Wide Web that significantly increase the value of the book. The authors also aim for the book to be accessible. This is important because the public, associations, companies and institutions other than museums preserve a large part of the cultural heritage. The Handbook on the Preservation of Collections was prepared on the initiative of the curators of the National Museum of Iceland and in good cooperation with the National Archives of Iceland and the National Library – University Library. This is an excellent example of successful collaboration between experts working on preventive conservation at public preservation institutions.
The manual on the preservation of museum collections is available on the website of the National Museum of Iceland at the following address: www.thjodminjasafn.is/minjar-og-rannsoknir/forvarsla/handbaekur/