Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 2:00 PM-3:00 PM
Location: Teams
Present: Ólafur Kvaran, chairman, Anna Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Haraldur Þór Egilsson, Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir, Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir, Harpa Þórsdóttir, Hilmar Malmquist, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir and Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, managing director.
The meeting began with a congratulatory message to the Icelandic Museum of Natural History and the museum's director, Hilmar Malmquist, regarding the newly signed agreement on future premises for the museum in Seltjarnarnes.
1. Presentation case
- Summary of activities since the last meeting. Among other things, the information session on applications for the 2021 main allocation of the Museum Fund was announced and the appointment of the Director of the Museum Council to the project board for the Government's Cultural Strategy to 2030 was announced.
- Results of a survey on the state of museums in October 2020The results of a survey on the state of museums in October 2020 were sent to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in early November, as well as to museum directors in the country.
- Second additional allocation from the museum fund 2020. The Minister's decision is awaited regarding additional allocations from the 2020 Museum Fund.
- Applications for the main allocation of the Museum Fund 2021. The deadline for applications for the 2021 Museum Fund's main allocation was Wednesday, December 16th at 4:00 p.m. The Executive Director presented the number of applications, the total amount, and the estimated timeline for the application process.
2. Matters for decision
- Policy on museum work was approved by the Museum Council with a minor amendment. The strategy has been worked on by a steering group over the past year in collaboration with the main museums under the project management of See consultants. Following approval, the document will be sent to the Minister of Education and Culture for approval, as required by Article 7 of the Museums Act.
- Collaboration between the Museum Council, ICOM in Iceland and the Association of Icelandic Museums and Museum Professionals on the organization of educational events and projects on museum work. The Museum Council agreed to formalize cooperation between ICOM in Iceland and FÍSOS, as there is good experience of this from this year's projects. The cooperation will consist of 1-2 events or projects per year and this group will involve more parties from the museum sector in the projects, depending on their nature and scope.
- Request for a deferral of grant utilization. A deadline was approved for the utilization of one grant from ICOM in Iceland.
3. Other issues
The Museum Council was thanked for its good and fruitful cooperation over the past four years, but this 200th Museum Council meeting was the last meeting of this Museum Council. The new Museum Council, appointed for 2021-2024, will take office on January 1, 2021.
Meeting adjourned at 3:00 PM/TMB
For approval between museum council meetings – December 21, 2020
On December 21, 2020, the Museum Council unanimously approved spending up to one million ISK in emergency aid for the Icelandic Museum of Technology, which was severely damaged in a mudslide on Saturday, December 19, 2020, and most of the museum's collection was buried under mud. This assistance is based on the Museum Council's supervisory role and the funds tied up in it. A large part of the Museum Council's supervisory role is monitoring the museum's building, the facilities of the museum's collection, and the preservation of artifacts, and the council expects that the money would be used for initial responses in the coming weeks and that the money would be used to bring experts to the site, pay for accommodation and subsistence, the cost of their work, and the cost of equipment and tools if necessary. The assistance would be planned and implemented with the Museums Council's oversight committee and in collaboration with the Blue Shield and even other parties such as the Civil Protection Agency, the National Museum and the Icelandic Heritage Agency, if necessary.