Minutes of the 44th meeting of the Museum Council, December 12, 2005, 11:30-12:45,
National Gallery of Iceland, Laufásvegur 12, 101 Reykjavík
Present were: Ólafur Kvaran, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, Jón Gunnar Ottósson, Karl Rúnar Þórsson and Rakel Halldórsdóttir.
1. The minutes of the 43rd meeting were approved and signed.
2. Report of the Managing Director. The CEO reported on activities since the last meeting. It has been some time since the last meeting, as the Museum Council's formal mandate expired on September 15, 2005.
New Museum Council was appointed from November 1, 2005 – November 1, 2009, and nominations were received by mail in the last week of November. The council continues to be composed of the statutory representatives; the directors of the three main museums, Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir – National Museum Curator, Ólafur Kvaran – Director of the National Gallery of Iceland and Jón Gunnar Ottósson – Director of the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. The appointed representatives of interest groups on the council for the next four years are Karl Rúnar Þórsson, chairman of the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors, representing the association, and Sveinn Kristinsson, president of the Akranes Municipality, representing the Association of Icelandic Local Governments. Representatives of interest groups on the Museum Council receive a committee fee, assessed by the Remuneration Committee, for their work on the Museum Council. The committee salary have been assessed as low and the council agreed to request a review of them with regard to the scope of work that accompanies a representative position on the Museum Council.
Annual Accounts of the Museum Fund 2004 is now available. Museum Council Annual Report 2004 is also available, but according to the decision of the Board of Directors and the Chairman, the annual report will be published online this time and will be accessible on the Museum Council's website shortly.
Responses to several older communications from the Museums Council have been received from the Ministry of Education. 1) A report regarding accounting services for the Museum Fund. The Ministry does not consider a separate accounting service for the Museum Fund to be necessary and will therefore continue to pay the fund's bills. 2) Comments on Act No. 105/2001. The Ministry is currently working on a revision of the law and it is planned to consult with the Museums Council. 3) A paper regarding the possibility of the Museums Council referring to the statutes of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) when justifying decisions. The Ministry pointed out that when drafting the Museums Act, ICOM's conventions were taken into account.
Business handled between meetings. Two submissions, one from the Skagfjordur Folk Museum and the other from the Icelandic Archaeological Institute, regarding the export of cultural property were processed by the chairman between meetings after seeking the opinion of the Icelandic Archaeological Conservation Authority and the curator of the National Museum of Iceland. With regard to and taking into account the opinions of experts from these institutions, export permits were granted in both cases. A report from Skriðuklaustur Research, concerning the export of animal bones (i.e. zoological specimens, cf. Article 2 of Act No. 105/2001), was referred for processing by the Icelandic Institute of Natural History in accordance with the law.
Work is currently underway to improve the Museum Council's website., but the website will be moved to a new, more accessible environment.
Museum Council's symposium on the educational role of museums on October 21, 2005 went well. A survey was conducted of the perceptions of seminar attendees regarding the implementation and progress of the seminar, and the results indicated that the seminar achieved the goals set for it and will also be useful in the implementation of similar events in the future. The symposium papers will be available on the Museums Council's website shortly.
63 applications have been received for the 2006 Museum Fund.. The museum's fund is 83.7 million in 2006, or an increase of 17.7 million from 2005. The goal is to complete the allocation from the 2006 fund by the end of January 2006.
European Museum of the Year Award 2007. In accordance with the procedures agreed at the meeting of the Museums Council on 10 February 2005, the Board of Directors has sought proposals for the nomination of a museum for the Council of Europe Museums competition in 2007. The parties submitting proposals are the main museums (National Museum of Iceland, Art Museum of Iceland and the Icelandic Institute of Natural History) and stakeholders; the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors and ICOM, the International Council of Museums in Iceland. Responses are still awaited from some of these parties.
3. Amendments to the Museum Act. The Museum Council met with the Museums Act Review Committee at the Ministry of Education and Culture on December 5th. The Audit Committee is composed of Ragnheiður H. Þórarinsdóttir, Sólveig Georgsdóttir and Guðmundur Hálfdanarson. Further consultation regarding changes to the law is planned.
4. Structure of the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Iceland. The Museum Council discussed a presentation by representatives of the Faculty of Museum Studies at the University of Iceland requesting the Museum Council's cooperation in developing the department. The Museum Council expressed interest in the project, which is in line with the Council's procedures and focus on promoting the education of museum staff and ways to educate. However, the council considered the position of the Faculty of Social Sciences to be unclear in the report and agreed to request a formal report stating the faculty's position.
5. Commentary on the application of the Snæfellsjön and Hnappdæla Regional Museum for a building grant pursuant to Article 11 of the Museums Act. The Ministry of Education and Culture requested the Museums Council's opinion on the museum's application in accordance with Article 11 of the Museums Act. The Managing Director and Chairman had the opportunity to inspect the museum's new storage facility during their tour of Snæfellsnes Peninsula with staff from the National Gallery of Iceland on October 3, 2005. The Museum Board approved the premises with the proviso that fire protection and conservation be adequately taken care of and that the initial costs be in accordance with the application.
6. Commentary on the application of the Hunting Museum for a building grant according to Article 11 of the Museums Act. The Ministry of Education and Culture requested the Museums Council's opinion on the application in accordance with Article 11 of the Museums Act. The Museum Board approved the premises with the proviso that fire protection and conservation be adequately taken care of and the initial cost be in accordance with the application, but it should be noted that the cost estimate is far below the criteria recommended by the State Construction Agency.
7. Meeting schedule 2006. The meeting schedule for 2006 was discussed. Council members will review their agendas and submit comments before the end of the week.
8. Next meeting and other matters. No further meetings are scheduled for 2005. The next meeting is planned for January 12, 2006.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 12:45/RH