Thursday, March 22, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Location: Museum House, Hverfisgata
Present: Ólafur Kvaran, Chairman, Anna Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Vice-Chairman, Haraldur Þór Egilsson, Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, Anna María Urbancic (on behalf of the National Gallery of Iceland), Álfheiður Ingadóttir (on behalf of the National Museum of Natural History of Iceland) and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Executive Director.
1. Matter for presentation
1.1 Overview of the council's activities since the last meeting.
1.2 The Council of Museums and the Ministry of Education and Culture want to draw attention to the distribution of grants from the Museum Fund with a short ceremony in connection with the spring meetings of art and cultural heritage museums, which will be held at the end of April. The purpose is, among other things, to highlight the diverse professional work carried out in the country's accredited museums.
1.3 A discussion about the relationship between accredited museums and their owners, the municipalities. In early March, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, the National Museum Curator, Harpa Þórsdóttir, Director of the National Gallery of Iceland, Anna Lísa Rúnarsdóttir, Director of the National Museum, and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Executive Director of the Museum Council, met with representatives of the Association of Icelandic Municipalities.
1.4 The Skagfirðingar Regional Museum recently sent a communication to the National Museum Board regarding the museum's status, which has changed somewhat since it applied for and received recognition from the Minister of Education and Culture in 2014. The museum's housing situation is uncertain, and there is no foreseeable solution for its preservation, exhibition, and office space. The museum board will send an inquiry to the municipality to explore the vision for the Skagfirðingar Folk Museum, and will also emphasize that the museum is an accredited institution that should be taken into consideration in any planning and housing changes.
1.5 The grant awards from the 2018 main allocation of the Museum Fund were announced, with the Minister of Education and Culture making the allocations upon the recommendation of the Museum Council. The total allocation is 114,770,000 kr., of which 24,150,000 kr. is for operating grants and 90,620,000 kr. is for project grants. In total, the fund received applications from 55 entities; thirty-eight applications were for operating grants from accredited museums, but one museum withdrew its application. Thirty-five accredited museums receive an operating grant of 600,000 to 900,000 kr. each. For project grants, 144 applications were received from 54 entities, and 88 projects from 44 entities will receive grants ranging from 200,000 kr. to 3,000,000 kr.
2. Matters for decision
2.1 The annual report of the board of trustees for the year 2017 was approved.
2.2 The Museum Council approved the Whale Museum's request that new or modified facilities meet the Museum Council's requirements for accredited museums.
3. Other matters
No other matters discussed. Meeting adjourned at 1:45 PM / TBÓ