Additional allocation from the museum fund 2020 – accelerated allocation due to COVID-19

The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports has, after receiving the opinion of the Museum Council, allocated funds from the accelerated additional allocation of the Museum Fund 2020. This time, the additional allocation of the Museum Fund is approximately half a year earlier than usual, as museums are in urgent need due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 37 applications were received for a total amount of ISK 61,195,000. All applications will receive funding and the total grant allocation is ISK 40,124,000. …

Applications open for additional allocation of the Museum Fund 2020

UPDATE: APPLICATION PROCESS IS CLOSED Applications have been opened for the accelerated additional allocation of the Museum Fund 2020. This time, the additional allocation of the Museum Fund is approximately half a year earlier than usual, as there is an urgent need for museums due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the additional allocation of the Museum Fund, only recognized museums can apply for funding; applications from …

Icelandic Museum Awards presented in 2020

The President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, presented the National Museum of Iceland with the 2020 Icelandic Museum Award at a ceremonial event at Safnahúsið on Hverfisgata on Monday, May 18, at 4:00 PM. The Icelandic Museum Award is a biennial award presented to an Icelandic museum for outstanding work. Five projects were also nominated: the Reykjavík City History Museum, the Reykjavík Art Museum, the National Museum of Natural History of Iceland, and jointly the Eastland Museum, the Museum of Technology …

Survey to accredited museums and state archives about COVID-19 and museums

The impact of COVID-19 on museum operations is significant. For example, museums are facing a decline in revenue due to fewer visitors, closures, changes to schedules, changes in working conditions and even staff reductions. To enable the Museum Council to assess the difficulties facing museums and staff, the Museum Council is now collaborating with FÍSOS, ICOM in Iceland …

Relaxation of the ban on gatherings

Relaxation of the ban on gatherings and possible opening of museums Changed rules on restrictions on gatherings came into effect from May 4, see the covid.is website. This means that museums can reopen to their guests. However, rules on crowd limits (50 people) and a two-meter distance limit apply and museums must respect these conditions. Museums …

Poster for printing for museums due to closures following COVID-19

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, all museums must close their doors to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The Museum Council has prepared a poster (see PDF version here and JPG version here) that museums can print out and hang in their museum windows if appropriate due to the museum closure. The text is based on the texts that …

Allocated from the 2020 main allocation from the museum fund

The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports has allocated funds from the main allocation of the Museum Fund 2020. In the main allocation of the Museum Fund 2020, the fund received 200 applications from 50 parties, from 45 recognized museums and 5 other parties. 177 applications were received for one-year grants for a total amount of ISK 275,469,165 and 23 Excellence applications were received for a total amount for the year 2020 ISK 80,325,500 and for the entire grant period …

Museums, museum funds and COVID-19

UPDATED MARCH 22: Latest news on tightened crowd restrictions on covid.is Tightened restrictions on gatherings – the limit is set at 20 people. These rules come into effect at midnight on Monday evening, March 23. THIS MEANS THAT MUSEUMS MUST CLOSED. “The Minister of Health has decided, in accordance with the proposal of the Chief Epidemiologist, to restrict gatherings even further than before due to the rapid spread of …

What is a museum? The new museum definition

ICOM, FÍSOS and the Museum Council are calling for a general meeting on Wednesday 4 March at 9.30 am at the Maritime Museum in Reykjavík, where the new ICOM definition of a museum will be discussed. The new definition of a museum was presented at the General Assembly of the International Council of Museums held in Kyoto in September 2019. The outcome of the meeting was to postpone the vote on the definition and call for further …