Tuesday, January 21, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Meeting place: 5 Austurstræti, 4th floor
Present: Vilhjálmur Bjarnason, Chair; Gunnhildur Ásta Guðmundsdóttir, Vice Chair; Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir; Inga Lára Baldvinsdóttir; and Hlynur Hallsson.
The meeting was attended on behalf of the main collections: for the National Gallery of Iceland: Ingibjörg Jóhannsdóttir; for the National Museum of Natural History of Iceland: Hilmar Malmquist; for the National Museum of Iceland: Harpa Þórsdóttir.
Staff of the Board of Trustees: Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Executive Director, who writes the minutes, and Klara Þórhallsdóttir.
1. Matter for presentation
- Overview of the council's activities since the last meeting.
- The 2024 supplementary allocation was approved by Logi Einarsson, Minister of Culture, earlier in January, and the grant recipients were notified of the allocation's outcome the same day. 74 grants were awarded for a total of 23,660,000 kr., while the fund received a total of 76 applications from 38 accredited museums, with a total requested amount of 24,860,000 kr.
- The main allocation of the Collections Fund for 2025 was discussed, pending the minister's decision. For the 2025 main allocation, 159 applications were received from 47 applicants, from 44 accredited museums and 3 other entities.
- Monitoring of accredited museums – the positive reaction of a museum owner to the museum council's monitoring report was discussed.
- A letter from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs was discussed, requesting proposals for streamlining, administrative simplification, and the merger of agencies by January 27. Proposals, ideas, and perspectives will be discussed by a working group established by the Prime Minister's Office, and the findings will be used to formulate a long-term plan for reforms in government operations.
- The 2025 work plan was presented.
- – item 1.7 was dropped
- This 241st meeting is the last meeting of the current Board of the National Museum, and it is thanked for its good work on behalf of recognized museums in Iceland and for the excellent cooperation over the past four years.
2. Matter for decision
- The 2025 budget, which was presented to the council in December, was approved.
3. Other matters
- The possibility of a future „assessment report“ on natural hazard events that have already occurred, such as Eyjafjallajökull, the Southlands earthquakes, Seyðisfjörður, and Grindavík (Reykjanes fires), was discussed.
- The minutes from the consultation meeting between the minister and professional associations on November 18th were presented. The minutes will be published on the council's website.
Meeting adjourned at 6:00 PM / THB