Thursday, July 2, 2020, from 11 AM to 1 PM
Location: Museum House
Present in person: Ólafur Kvaran, Chair, Anna Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir, and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Executive Director. Present via remote connection: Haraldur Þór Egilsson. Harpa Þórsdóttir, Hilmar Malmquist, and Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir were unable to attend.
1. Presentation case
- Summary of activities since the last meeting.
- Government resources are not available to museums. Museums have not received any direct support from the government in the wake of COVID-19, and it has become clear that the support intended for businesses and other entities in financial distress, such as government closure grants, cannot be utilized by any accredited museums due to strict regulations. Additionally, it has been pointed out that museums cannot utilize the unemployment fund's partial compensation scheme, which many museums that are non-profit organizations used. The Museum Council has approved sending a memorandum to the Minister of Education and Culture regarding the aforementioned situation.
- Survey on COVID-19 and museums. Draft report on the survey results presented.
- Annual Report of the Board of Trustees – Information. According to information from the Ministry of Education and Culture, the operational results for the 2019 museum council will not be confirmed until the end of August at the earliest. This affects the publication of the council's annual report, which will be postponed until the results are available.
- Supplemental allocation from the collections fund 2020. The Minister of Education and Culture, upon receiving a recommendation from the Museum Council, has allocated funds from the 2020 accelerated supplementary allocation of the Museum Fund. This time, the supplemental allocation of the Museum Fund is approximately six months earlier than usual, as there is an urgent need among museums due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 37 applications were received from accredited museums, totaling 61,195,000 kr. All applications were awarded a grant, with the total funding amounting to 40,124,000 kr. This accelerated supplementary allocation was structured differently than usual, providing grants to support the professional work of the museums, and the funds must be used in 2020.
- Acquisitions Committee Field Trip 2020. Discussion about the board of trustees' field trip, which will be held this coming October.
2. Matters for decision
- Addendum to the application process for museum accreditation. It was approved to add the following clause to the evaluation of applications for museum accreditation:
If an applying collection meets all the accreditation requirements, then it may result in- The Council shall send a member of its supervisory committee, or another competent person, to inspect the facilities of the museum applying for accreditation. The visit would consider the same aspects as those set forth in the inspection and evaluation reports of Part 2 of the Council's supervision of accredited museums.
- that the collection board calls upon an expert to evaluate other data on which the operation is based, such as building drawings, assessments, accessibility, permits, or to inspect the premises itself if necessary.
- Request for a change in the use of a grant. A request from Hafnarborg for a change in the use of a 2019 project grant was approved.
- FÍSOS - membership for the collection council. It was approved that the Museum Council will pay for FÍSOS membership for those council members whose employers do not cover the cost.
3. Other issues
The possibility of a second supplemental distribution from the 2020 Collections Fund for professional development grants for accredited museums was discussed. It was decided to hold the distribution and to advertise it early next fall.
Meeting adjourned 12:20 / THB