Friday, March 6, 2020, from 3-5 PM
Location: Museum House
Present: Ólafur Kvaran, Chairperson, Anna Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Gunnþóra Halldórsdóttir (alternate), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Executive Director. Haraldur Þór Egilsson, Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, Hilmar Malmquist, and Harpa Þórsdóttir were absent.
1. Presentation case
- Summary of activities since the last meeting.
- The Museum Council, ICOM Iceland, and FÍSOS held a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 4, at the Maritime Museum in Reykjavík, where the new ICOM museum definition was discussed. The new museum definition was presented at the General Assembly of the International Council of Museums, held in Kyoto, Japan, in September 2019. The outcome of the meeting was to postpone the vote on the definition and call for further feedback from members on its content. Jette Sandahl, chair of the committee for the new museum definition, gave a presentation at the meeting, explaining the work that has already taken place and the goals of the current working group on the subject. Other panelists included Hlynur Hallsson, director of the Akureyri Art Museum; Margrét Hallgrímsson, the National Museum Director; Ólöf Gerður Sigfúsdóttir, a doctoral student in museum studies; and Sigurjón Baldur Hafsteinsson, a professor of museum studies at the University of Iceland. Over 60 people attended the meeting, which was also live-streamed.
- Museums of Impact – Project Presentation. This item was postponed until the next meeting.
- Museum Council's proposal for the main allocation from the museum fund was presented. 178 applications were received for one-year grants totaling 275,469,165 kr. and 23 Excellence applications were received, totaling 80,325,500 kr. for 2020 and 237,712,100 kr. for the entire grant period of 2020–2022. A proposal has been sent to the Minister of Education and Culture for approval.
- Discussion on the work of the Museum Board's strategic planning, but stakeholder reviews have begun.
- New part-time employee at the Council of Museums office. Klara Thórhallsdóttir has started working at the office of the museum council and will be in a 20-30 % position as needed. Klara has extensive experience working in museums, including at the Reykjavík Art Museum and Hafnarborg. Klara will work for the museum council alongside her current position as a project manager at the Promotion Center for Icelandic Art.
2. Matters for decision
- A request was received from Kveik on RÚV for the delivery of data. regarding a segment on the preservation of cultural heritage in the country. The Museum Council consulted with the Ministry of Education and Culture regarding the request and subsequently provided RÚV with all evaluation reports the Museum Council has prepared for the third phase of its supervision of accredited museums.
- From the Parliament's Committee Office – a request for comments was received regarding two matters.; Item 277, „Proposal for a Congressional Resolution on the Protection and Preservation of Ships and Boats,“ and Item 308, „Proposal for a Congressional Resolution on the Maintenance and Preservation of Old Boats.” The Council was positive towards these proposals, and it was agreed to submit comments on both matters.
3. Other issues
- The Museum Council agreed to approach ICOM and FÍSOS to explore a partnership between the Museum Council, ICOM, and FÍSOS for discussion and educational forums, such as the meeting on the museum definition. Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir requested that it be noted her proposal was for the national museums to be included in this collaboration.
Meeting adjourned 5:00 PM / THB