The Museum Council, the Association of Icelandic Museums and Museum Owners, and the Icelandic Section of ICOM conducted a survey among museum directors of recognized museums and state museums in May and June. The survey was about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on museum work in Iceland and was also conducted in collaboration with the three main museums.
The aim was to solicit information about the challenges museums were suddenly facing and to assess the well-being of staff. The Museum Council also wanted to gather information about the operations of the museums, gather data for the Council and partners so that solutions could be found and support increased for museums. In addition, the aim was to provide information to relevant stakeholders, government agencies and other institutions.
48 museums responded to the survey, 43 fully and 5 to some extent, but all participants' responses were used. The results of the survey were compiled in a report that has now been published, "The impact of COVID-19 on museum work in Iceland"The authors of the report are Guðný Dóra Gestsdóttir, Chair of ICOM in Iceland, Helga Maureen Gylfadóttir, Chair of the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors, and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Director of the Museums Council.
It is clear that the impact is felt widely, income from foreign tourists, which normally sustain the special income of many museums in Iceland, has almost completely declined, with foreign tourists accounting for about 621% of museum visitors. In addition to the decline in income, museums have had to deal with closures, changes in plans and working methods, and even staff reductions.
The end of the effects of COVID-19 is still not in sight, now in September 2020, but it is planned to follow up on this survey in the winter of 2020/2021, where the reality of the year 2020 and how the next few months will affect museum staff will be examined.C19-report-END