235th Board of Trustees Meeting

Wednesday, August 21, 2024, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Meeting Location: Safnahúsið, Hverfisgata

Present: Vilhjálmur Bjarnason, Chair; Gunnhildur Ásta Guðmundsdóttir, Vice Chair; Helga Lára Þorsteinsdóttir; Inga Lára Baldvinsdóttir; and Hlynur Hallsson.

The meeting was attended on behalf of the principal museums: for the National Gallery of Iceland: Ingibjörg Jóhannsdóttir; for the National Museum of Natural History of Iceland: Ragnhildur Guðmundsdóttir; for the National Museum of Iceland: Harpa Þórsdóttir.

Staff of the Board of Trustees: Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir, Executive Director, who writes the minutes, and Klara Þórhallsdóttir.

1. Matter for presentation

  1. Overview of the council's activities since the last meeting
  2. Introduction to the creation of a statistical report for 2016-2023. Data for the years 2018-2022 have been received and some findings from them were presented. The possibility of publishing a dataset on the council's website was discussed, and this will be explored.
  3. A report was given on the status of a project on response plans for recognized museums. Because of this project, Klara will attend the annual meeting of the international Blue Shield in Romania this coming September, where the meeting is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Hague Convention. The Ministry of Culture and Commerce has subsequently requested a report from the National Heritage Council and other Icelandic participants.
  4. Consultation meeting with the minister – ideas were presented regarding the format of the meeting, possible dates, and attendees.
  5. The board's fall trip was discussed.

2. Matters for Decision

  1. Annual Report of the Museum Council 2023 presented – to be approved between meetings

3. Other matters

  • The next board of trustees meeting has been scheduled.
  • The status of supervisory matters was discussed.
  • Review of the council's website was discussed.
  • A conference at the Reykjavík Art Museum this fall, in collaboration with Bifröst, was discussed, along with the policies of museums and cultural institutions and the participation of the museum board.

Meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM / THB