Minutes of the 71st meeting of the Museum Council
May 19, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
National Museum of Iceland, Suðurgata, 101 Reykjavík
Present: Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, chairman, Halldór Björn Runólfsson, Helgi Torfason, Sveinn Kristinsson, AlmaDís Kristinsdóttir and Rakel Halldórsdóttir.
1. The minutes of the 70th meeting were approved and signed.
2. Director's report. Museum work.is. The number of museums, centres and exhibitions registered on the information website safnastarf.is, which is maintained by the Icelandic Museums Council, is increasing. The institutions themselves are responsible for registering, maintaining and updating information on the site with a password. Accessibility for everyoneThe meeting of the National Museum and the Museum Council on accessibility issues in museums on April 23, 2008 went well. Good suggestions were made for easy improvements to museum accessibility. Structure of a master's program in museology at the University of Iceland. A master's degree program in museology will be offered at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Iceland from autumn 2009. This will be an important step towards the professional development of museum work in Iceland. Icelandic Museum Day 2008. The working group for the promotion of Icelandic Museum Day 2008 has met. The Museum Council's office is handling the promotion as in previous years and the promotion will be in a similar manner as in the past. The title of the day will be "for the family". Copyright issues of collections. In continuation of the decision of the last meeting, the Chair spoke with Erla S. Árnadóttir from Lex law firm. She will undertake to examine a possible basic agreement between the Museum Council and the Museum of Iceland on the use of visual material in the educational work of museums. Invitation to visit the Contemporary Art MuseumThe Contemporary Art Museum invited the Museum Council to visit the museum. The Council thanks the invitation and requests that the museum name a date later in the year (such as in the fall, for example, following a meeting of the Council). Ministry of Education's response to the Museums Council's request for a meeting with the chairman of the Budget Committee. In continuation of the Museum Council's request, a response was received from Eiríkir Þorláksson at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, pointing out that institutions and funds are not permitted to attend the committee's meeting. The Museum Council agreed to respond to the EÞ and point out that the council has so far operated according to that rule, but that it has in mind the consultation of the House Preservation Committee and the Budget Committee on budget allocations in the field of house preservation. The Museum Council considers it important to promote better professional utilization of funds and coordinated working methods through comparable consultation between the Museum Council and the Budget Committee. Furthermore, the Museum Council requests information on which resolution is being referred to in connection with the ministry's rule in question. European Museum Award 2008The 2008 European Museum of the Year Award was presented for the 31st time on Saturday, May 17, 2008. The Museum Board nominated Reykjavík Museum of Art for the competition for the Settlement Exhibition 871 +/-2. After a visit by the jury in August 2007, the museum was selected for the ongoing competition and competed in the finals on May 17, but did not come away with a clear victory. Information about the award winners can be found at www.europeanmuseumforum.org (Opens in a new browser window).
3. Application forms 2009The Minister of Culture presented draft application forms for applications from the 2009 Museum Fund. The draft was approved with amendments.
4. Advertisement for applications to the 2009 Museum Fund. The Minister of Culture presented a draft advertisement for applications to the 2009 Museum Fund. The draft was approved with amendments. Information for museums on the calculation of the amount of operating grants from the 2009 Museum Fund was also approved. Applications will be advertised in June.
5. Recognition document – designer's ideas. Postponed until the next meeting.
6. Reykjavík Botanical Garden's presentation regarding the 2008 allocationThe Museum Council received a submission from the Reykjavík Botanical Garden requesting justification for the processing of the Botanical Garden's application for the 2008 Museum Fund. The Museum Council approved a letter of response to the submission.
7. Next meeting and other mattersThe next meeting of the Museum Council was scheduled for Monday, May 12th, 3-5 p.m., according to the meeting schedule.
Other issues:
Damage to antiques. The Museum Council received a report, forwarded by the Icelandic Antiquities Authority, from Jón Pálmasyn, in which he points out destructive actions being taken on antiques, old firearms. The firearms are marked with a specimen number in a permanent manner (buried in them or carved) by order of the Police Department with reference to the Weapons Act No. 16/1998.
According to Ólafur Ingi Jónsson, curator, this is a destructive and unnecessary operation on antiquities. The Museum Council agreed to report the matter to the National Commissioner of Police.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 17:00/RH