182nd Board of Trustees Meeting

Tuesday, April 9, 2019, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: Museum House

Present: Ólafur Kvaran, Chair, Anna Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Vice Chair, Gunnþóra Halldórsdóttir, Alternate Member, Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir, Hilmar Malmquist, and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Executive Director. Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir and Harpa Þórsdóttir were unable to attend.

1. Matter for presentation

  1. Overview of the council's activities since the last meeting.
  2. Discussion about the working meeting of the Board of Trustees, to be held in Akureyri on June 3-4.
  3. A letter from the Skagfirðingar Regional Museum regarding their housing issues was presented for information. No comments were made on the letter.
  4. The utilization reports of the Council's grant recipients were discussed. It was decided to hold payments for similar grants to recipients if utilization reports have not been submitted. It was also decided that the utilization report for the 2018 operating grants will be part of Annual Report of Accredited Museums 2019.

2. Matters for decision

  1. Starting with the 2018 grant year, project grant recipients must submit a progress report to the Foundation for grants of 1,500,000 kr. or higher. The deadline for submitting the 2018 project grant progress report was March 20th. The Collection Council has confirmed receipt of the reports that have been received. Of the 23 projects awarded a grant of 1,500,000 kr. or higher, 11 interim reports and 4 final reports have been received.
  2. The deadline for the utilization report for the 2017 continuing education grants was March 15th. The Library Council confirmed receipt of the reports that have been received; 35 grants were awarded, but 31 reports have been received and 1 grant was declined.
  3. This is the first year that grant recipients have been required to submit reports for operating grants, and this is for the 2017 operating grants. The Council of Museums confirmed receipt of the reports that have been received; 38 museums received operating grants, and 32 operating grant reports have been received.
  4. The annual report of the Board of Trustees is presented for approval. Board members have until April 26 to submit comments.
  5. A letter from the Research Center for Tourism requesting collaboration with the Museum Council on research concerning culture, museums, and tourism. In this context, the Center requests access to the Museum Council's data that would be useful for research and analysis, e.g., information the Museum Council collects on visitor numbers, admission fees, and opening hours. It is agreed to initiate this collaboration.

3. Other matters

Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir informed the board about artifacts that RÚV has collected over the years and are stored at RÚV's premises in Vatnsenda. The board believes that the National Museum should be consulted regarding their preservation and/or culling.

Meeting adjourned 1:00 PM / THB