VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

In collaboration with the American Association of Museums and the Blaffer Art Museum, it's the Museum of Broken Relationships. Have you ever had a broken heart? Do you own an object that won’t let you forget? Here’s your chance to give it a perfect new home!The Museum of Broken Relationships seeks your donation. Become a part of global emotional history!

The Museum is an artistic project in which everyone can participate. It is a grand effort to honor the emotional heritage of humankind, offering the possibility to use the positive forces of creation and memory (instead of destruction and oblivion) in overcoming your broken heart. The Museum was conceived of and created by Olinka Vistica and Drazen Grubisic of Croatia. The artists strongly believe in the arts as a path to emotional catharsis, and that by interacting with the intimate stories of others, our cultural and political differences dissolve into a shared common experience.

In collaboration with the American Association of Museum’s 2011 Annual Meeting & Museum Expo, the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston will present an exhibition from the permanent collection of the Museum of Broken Relationships (MBR). The exhibition will feature detritus from failed relationships – be it a wedding dress, an “I Love You” teddy bear, or a set of fuzzy handcuffs – donated to the museum by people from around the world. Objects from the permanent collection will be on view alongside ephemera offered by Houstonians and AAM conference attendees looking to exhibit their own love legacy.

Blaffer Art Museum invites the public to an opening reception in celebration of the exhibition on Friday, May 20, from 6 until 9 p.m. Admission is free, and complimentary cocktails will be provided. The exhibit will be on view through June 4.

HOUSTON – WE NEED YOUR STUFF!
To donate your object, please complete the following steps:
1. Visit www.brokenships.com
2. Click on “SEND YOUR EXHIBIT”
3. Submit your completed Intent to Donate Form online
4. Print out your Donate Form (it will be emailed to you) and bring it with your object in person to the Blaffer Art Museum between April 26 - May 13, from 10 am – 5 pm, Tuesdays – Fridays.

All objects donated in Houston will be on display for the duration of the exhibition. All objects are exhibited anonymously and are non-returnable.

Museum of Broken Relationships will be on view concurrently at Blaffer with Love is a Many Splintered Thing, an independent film program curated by Bree Edwards that features atypical love stories. Amy Grappell, Vincent Moon, Kelly Sears, Impactist, Gabriel Bisset-Smith, Tara Mateik, Bec Stupak, and Nuno Rocha all contributed films for the project.

Both Museum of Broken Relationships and Love is a Many Splintered Thing mark the final exhibitions on view at Blaffer before the museum closes its doors in summer and fall 2011 for a major renovation.