From the minutes of the 163rd meeting of the Board of Trustees

The Council of Museums draws attention to the decision of the 163rd Council of Museums meeting, June 20, 2017: For the 2018 museum fund allocation, the Museum Council approved the following timeline for the 2018 museum fund application process, with the proviso that dates may shift by a few days: Applications for the museum fund will open on October 15, 2017. The deadline for applications is November 15, 2017. The evaluation committee will receive applications …

Annual Report of the Museum Council 2016

The 2016 Annual Report of the Collections Council is now available on the council's website. The report was approved at the council's 162nd meeting. The report reviews the activities of the Museum Council in 2016 and includes an overview of that year's allocations from the Museum Fund. It also contains a summary of the operations of accredited museums in 2015, which can be used by museums when developing benchmarks for strategic planning.

Allocation from the museum fund 2017

The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports has allocated a total of ISK 97,329,000 from the 2017 Museum Fund, after receiving the Museum Council's opinion. Of this amount, ISK 72.3 million will go to individual projects and ISK 25.1 million to operating grants to 38 recognized museums throughout the country. This time, a total of 146 project applications were received. Grants are being allocated to 86 projects and …

Symposium on Museums and Tourism – Report

The Council of Museums, in collaboration with Íslandsstofa and the Association of Icelandic Municipalities, held a symposium on museums and tourism at the National Museum on Hverfisgata on November 18, 2016. See the news story about the symposium here. The secretary of the symposium was Sigurlaug Dagsdóttir, an ethnologist, master's student in museology, and part-time lecturer at the University of Iceland, and she also worked on writing a report about the symposium. It is clear that both …

Use of Grants from the Collections Fund 2015

  According to the Museum Act, those who receive a grant from the Museum Fund must submit a final report within one year of the project's projected completion. Now two years have passed since the grants were awarded in 2015, and since the grants are awarded for one year, it can be assumed that a year will have passed from the end of all projects by the end of April 2017. A report on …

The Executive Director of the Museums Council takes a seat on the professional council for arts and creative arts at Íslandsstofa

Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, the director of the Museum Council, took a seat at the turn of the year on the professional council for arts and creative arts at Íslandsstofa. The Íslandsstofa website states: Special professional councils, appointed by the board of Íslandsstofa, contribute to Íslandsstofa becoming a powerful platform for collaboration between industry and government. The professional councils are the board of Íslandsstofa's ministry in shaping policy and priorities. It is important that the professional councils work well as …

One collection receives recognition

  The Minister of Education and Culture has reviewed the recommendation of the Museum Council from October 25, 2016, regarding the recognition of museums in accordance with the Museums Act No. 141/2011. The Minister, on the recommendation of the Council, granted recognition to one museum, the East Iceland Maritime Museum. The Museum Council will be accepting applications for recognition for processing in 2017 until August 31, 2017. Further information about the application process can be found here.

New museum board appointed

The Minister of Education and Culture has appointed to the Museum Council for the period January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2020: MEMBERS OF THE MUSEUM COUNCIL: Principal Representatives: Ólafur Kvaran, Chair, appointed without nomination Anna Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Vice Chair, appointed without nomination Haraldur Þór Egilsson, nominated by the Association of Icelandic Museums and Museum Professionals (Opens in a new browser tab) Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, nominated by the Icelandic Section of ICOM, the International Council of Museums Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir, nominated by the Association of Icelandic Municipalities (Opens …

Council of Museums Office Moved

At the beginning of January, the office of the Council of Museums relocated to Gimli, at 3 Lækjargata, 101 Reykjavík, after seven years in the National Museum's museum building. Gimli is also home to the Reykjavík Arts Festival and the Icelandic Art Promotion Center. The office of the Board of Museums has also received a new phone number: 534-2234.