A “Museum of Personal Failure” Just Opened — And Honestly, We’ve Never Felt More Seen

At last. A museum where overachieving is actively discouraged.

A brand-new pop-up has opened in Vancouver called the Museum of Personal FAILURE, and if that title alone doesn’t make you feel spiritually represented, just wait until you hear what’s inside.

The museum is the brainchild of Eyvan Collins (pronounced AY-vin), who came up with the idea following a breakup. Instead of journaling, therapy, or a dramatic haircut, they did something far more productive: they created a museum dedicated entirely to things that didn’t work out.

Eyvan plastered posters around Vancouver with the simple call to action: “Failures Wanted.” And people absolutely delivered.

So what qualifies as a museum-worthy failure?

Featured exhibits include:

• A fully dead plant (gone but not forgotten)
• A divorced woman’s wedding dress
• Failed art projects that never found their moment
• An entire wall of rejected job applications
• A producer’s album that went absolutely nowhere

Each item comes with a written backstory explaining why it mattered, how it failed, and why it still deserves space.

One contributor didn’t even submit an object. He submitted a long, handwritten list of his biggest life failures.

He later said having his list accepted into the museum felt like “a success,” which is either deeply ironic or deeply healing. Possibly both.

RELATED: Most Parents Admit To Feeling Like ‘Failures’

Eyvan says the goal of the museum is to explore what failure means to different people, and what failure looks like when it takes physical form. But it’s also a celebration — a reminder that failing isn’t shameful. It’s universal. And usually necessary.

Everyone fails. Constantly. It’s how people learn, adapt, and occasionally end up in a museum.

The Museum of Personal FAILURE is currently a pop-up, not a permanent installation — which feels extremely on theme. But for now, it exists as a rare space where not succeeding is the whole point.

So the real question is:
If you were submitting something, what would your exhibit be?

(And yes, that unfinished project in your notes app absolutely qualifies.)