CV of Failures exhibition opens in the Herta Mohr Building
Exhibition image: Nehir Aksel/Myrthe Timmers
Doctorates, scholarships, or a trip around the world during a sabbatical: when it comes to our careers, we often talk about what went well. The CV of Failures exhibition at the Herta Mohr Building shows the other side of the coin. On large boards, university staff talk about rejections, setbacks, and unexpected twists and turns.
CV of Failures is the brainchild of study adviser Roos ter Elst, who organised the first exhibition in The Hague last year. The exhibition was adapted for the Herta Mohr Building. ‘We wanted to bring it a little closer to Leiden, so that the faces would be recognisable to the people who walk around here,’ says Chiara Aalbersberg, who helped design the Leiden exhibition as a student assistant.
Success through failure
One of the new Leiden people she approached was assessor Mette Kamerich, who also opened the exhibition. ‘When I told people I was going to participate in this, some wondered if it was a wise decision,’ Mette said in her speech. ‘It does make you quite vulnerable.’ She herself had no doubts. 'It's good to talk more about this. If I hadn't been rejected for all those internships last year, I wouldn't be standing here now as an assessor.'
Many of the people portrayed share this view. Their texts reveal how often failure led to success, or at least to useful insights.
The CV of Failures exhibition can be seen until October 30 at the top of the stairs in the Herta Mohr Building.