Museum of Broken Relationships: A museum of love and loss

By Signe Hansen

In a quiet Baroque palace in Zagreb, visitors stand peering and pondering over a bra, a toaster, a teddy bear, and a cassette tape. Museum of Broken Relationships is a rollercoaster of human emotion, a place where heartbreak becomes art and vulnerability becomes connection. Its universal appeal has drawn attention from all over, and recently, the museum opened a new permanent branch in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Born from heartbreak, the story of Museum of Broken Relationships began when arts producer Olinka Vištica and visual artist Dražen Grubišić, wanting to honour the love they had lost, turned the remnants of their ended relationship into an art installation. Scan Magazine speaks with Vištica, who shares the story of how her broken relationship evolved into an entirely new kind of museum experience – and Grubišićher, her ex-romantic partner, into a lifelong creative partner.

Founders of Museum of Broken Relationships, arts producer Olinka Vištica and visual artist Dražen Grubišić. Photo: Museum of Broken Relationships

“When I saw the reaction from people, how they cared, I thought – there’s something in this project,” she says. “We show how vulnerable we are. How in love and loss, we are all the same, no matter cultural differences. But also, the museum is a space for communication – when I see people silently hunched over objects, it reminds me of two people who have never met having a really intimate conversation and understanding each other.”

Beginning as an art installation in 2006, Museum of Broken Relationships immediately drew worldwide attention. Today, it is a global phenomenon with two permanent locations – in Zagreb and Chiang Mai – multiple touring exhibitions, thousands of contributions, and numerous awards, including the EMYA Kenneth Hudson Award for Europe’s most innovative museum.

In 2023, Museum of Broken Relationships opened its second permanent location in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo: Museum of Broken Relationships

A successful breakup

Despite its success, neither of the two founders of Museum of Broken Relationships had even the tiniest inkling of the dimensions the project would one day take when they sent out the first call for objects and stories. The first larger installation took place in Zagreb in a shipping container in 2006, and media attention quickly followed. “When Reuters called to cover an art installation opening in a shipping container, we realised people were intrigued,” says Vištica. Commissions soon came from art festivals worldwide, and the heartbreak installation travelled the world.

By 2009, its two creators faced a new dilemma: what to do with the growing collection of intimate donations. “We had made a promise to the donors that we would look after and honour their donations, so disposing of them was not an option,” explains Vištica. In 2010, despite banks laughing at their loan requests, they secured a space in Zagreb’s Upper Town – part of a beautiful Baroque mansion. Meanwhile, touring exhibitions continue to gather new local contributions in cities all over the world, building a rich tapestry of cultural differences and universal themes.

The shared pet of founders Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić was the first contribution to the museum. Photo: Museum of Broken Relationships

A rollercoaster of emotion

Today, the museum holds around 4,000 items, exhibiting around 100 at any time, each carefully curated with its accompanying story. From a bra donated by a woman who broke up with her conception of herself after breast cancer, to a frozen piece of wedding cake preserved in its own mini freezer, to a pair of huge tennis shoes with a simple, aching note: “We practised basketball together. I was gay, you were straight. That killed me inside.”

“The visit is a rollercoaster of emotions,” Vištica says. “Some items make you laugh, some break your heart. Many are stories of love that could never be, and that makes them even more powerful. We wanted to show life’s ups and downs.”

Visitors often linger in the museum’s café afterwards, discussing what they have seen. “My favourite pastime is to have coffee and listen to people,” she says. “The museum still surprises people. It’s not cheesy, it’s not just a gimmick. People interpret it in their own ways.”

Photo: Vladimira Spindler

A universal theme

In 2023, Museum of Broken Relationships opened its second permanent location in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “We never wanted to franchise – a museum cannot be replicated – but we had some amazing partners in Chiang Mai, and there was something about the idea of opening a museum there that made sense,” reflects Vištica. “In Asia, the stories are different, and the acceptance of loss as something that’s part of life is more felt, and that made us curious to explore more.”

Despite the years that have passed since the museum’s unlikely creation, its stories still continue to surprise and amaze. “There are items that move you in different ways,” Vištica explains and concludes: “If the museum has taught me anything, it’s not to take my personal challenges too seriously. Things happen – it means I am alive.”

Indeed, Museum of Broken Relationships serves as a poignant reminder that behind every heartbreak lies a story of love, hope, and humanity. And as long as people continue to love, this museum will never become outdated.