Archive Of Sorrow: Traveling Museum Displays Remnants Of Failed Relationships

Breakup Museum Offers Closure To The Dumped

What do a collection of Proust novels and a pair of furry pink handcuffs have in common? They're both cast-offs from failed relationships, objects that embody memories of an aborted romance. And starting today they're on display at The Museum of Broken Relationships at the Tristan Bates Theatre in London, along with about 100 other artifacts paying homage to love affairs cut short.

The project started in Croatia in 2006 and still maintains a permanent home in Zagreb, but founders Olinka Vištica and Drazen Grubiši have brought the museum around the world, from Berlin to Istanbul, from South Africa to the Philippines. In the U.S., the museum has visited San Francisco, Houston, St. Louis, and Bloomington, Indiana. The traveling exhibits mix objects from the museum's permanent collection with donations from locals. Submissions are always anonymous, but captions list the relationship's length, date, and location.

The museum's website suggests donating artifacts as a form of creative self-help.

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