192nd Museum Council Meeting

Wednesday, April 16, 2020, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Location: Zoom – remote meeting

Present: Ólafur Kvaran, chairman, Anna Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, Haraldur Þór Egilsson, Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir, Harpa Þórsdóttir, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, managing director. Hilmar Malmquist was absent.

1. Presentation case

  1. Summary of activities since the last meeting.
  2. Museum Board COVID-19 response. The Museum Council has sent information to recognized museums about their response to COVID-19, both via email, on the Museum Council's Facebook page and the museum members' Facebook page. The Director has sent two memos to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in this regard. Recognized museums have been greatly affected by COVID-19, including due to the increased ban on gatherings, museums had to close completely to visitors from March 24 and are expected to reopen on May 4, as long as they can ensure a 2-meter distance between visitors. The loss of revenue for museums is expected to be significant, as about 671% of their visitors are foreign tourists. Due to the museum fund, museums have had to take measures, including postponing projects that are in progress or extending the work period, and the Museum Council has announced that these museums will be given a reprieve as a result. Regarding the change in the use of grants, there will be cases where museums do not have the opportunity to work on projects as they were initially planned. Each case will be assessed individually, and hopefully an acceptable solution will be found for all of those cases.
  3. Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports Consultative Group. The Director of the Museums Council and the directors of the main museums reported on the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science's consultative group and key stakeholders in the cultural sector's response to COVID-19 and the response and additional funding from the government.
  4. MOI deadline for a project. The MOI project has been postponed for at least 6 months, so it has not started, apart from the preparatory meeting in January.
  5. Main allocation from the museum fund 2020. In the main allocation of the Museum Fund 2020, the Fund received 200 applications from 50 parties, from 45 recognized museums and 5 other parties. 177 applications were received for one-year grants for a total amount of ISK 275,469,165. And 23 Excellence applications were received for a total amount for the year 2020 ISK 80,325,500 and for the entire grant period 2020 – 2022 ISK 237,712,100. The total grant amount for the year 2020 from the main allocation of the Museum Fund 2020 is ISK 177,243,000. 111 one-year grants have been awarded for a total amount of ISK 139,543,000. 13 Excellence grants have been awarded, which are divided as follows: for the year 2020 ISK 37,700,000, for the year 2021 ISK 40,700,000 and for the year 2021 ISK 32,000,000. The total amount for the grant period is ISK 110,400,000. Complete list of grants from the main allocation of the museum fund: https://safnarad.is/safnasjodur/uthlutanir-safnasjods/uthlutun-2020/
  6. Extra allocation expedited. The Museum Council agrees that the current situation needs to be addressed by making the additional allocation earlier than planned. The Museum Council agreed to prepare an additional allocation, subject to a prior analysis of the situation, with reference to section 2.1.
  7. Joint memorandum of the Museum Council and the main museums. A joint memorandum will be prepared by the Museum Council and the main museums, outlining the ideas and projects that are underway and responses to the current situation.
  8. Draft agreement with Sarp Management Company for the third part of the inspection presented.

2. Matters for decision

  1. Survey on the status of museums due to C-19. It has been agreed to send out a survey to accredited museums and state museums requesting information on the museums' changed operating conditions and responses to COVID-19. This is a collaborative project between the Museum Council, the main museums, ICOM and FÍSOS, under the responsibility of the Museum Council, and the Museum Council will manage the data.
  2. Agreement regarding Excellence Grants. The Museum Council approved a contract form for Excellence Grants.
  3. (this item was moved to the introductory section of the minutes, item 1.8)
  4. Checklist and agreement for 3rd party monitoring. Checklist and agreement for museum fund grant projects before registration in Sarpi was approved, which is a professional checklist for registration in Sarp, prepared by the Sarp Registration Board, the Sarp Management Company and the Museum Council. The same document also contains an agreement between the beneficiaries of registration grants from the Museum Fund and the Museum Council that the project will be monitored through continuous evaluation.

3. Other issues

The Museum Council expresses its satisfaction with the response of museums to COVID-19, both in terms of innovation in the dissemination of museum resources and in museum education, and in the general response to the situation. They have ensured continued access, demonstrated adaptability, are resourceful, and have tried their best to protect the work of museum workers.

Meeting adjourned 12:30 / ÞBÓ