DURHAM, N.C. — The pandemic led one North Carolina couple to open a museum. But they wanted it to be more than a place visitors could just walk around.

This museum is all about smiling. 

Today, Erica Bishop is putting the finishing touches on a room most people would never think to decorate. Bishop is the co-owner of the Bull City Selfie Museum.

“This is for our laundry room," Bishop said. But this isn’t your typical laundry room, it's instead worthy of a spot in a museum.

“Throne chair, our Duke and UNC, our flower wall, which we’re still getting everything together," Bishop said, describing the space.

It's a project she and her husband have worked on for months.

"We wanted a place for people to smile and be happy," Bishop said, especially during the hard times of the pandemic. 

Bishop lost several family members and friends to COVID-19. The couple just wanted to create a space for people to escape.

“My creativity and DIYer, and his drive and he was just like we need to do something to make a difference. That's why we decided to do this," Bishop said.

The museum will also provide opportunities for artists like Lentonia Monique to show off their work.

“The theme of this is like a neon dance floor all of my work are geometric slash symmetry schemed," Monique said.

Bishop says she wanted to provide local artists the chance to display their work for free inside her museum and sell them for 100% profit.

“This is a wonderful opportunity as an artist to be able to showcase my work at a place that will be as big as this selfie museum. It just means a lot, I'll be getting a lot of exposure [I] may not have had the opportunity to otherwise," Monique said.

The museum will have 40 exhibits, a courtyard and a lobby lounge. Bishop says she is constantly doing what she can to give back to the community and she needed a large space to do just that.

“For Christmas, we're inviting a bunch of unfortunate families who've gone through tragedy to just smile come in for free and take their kids somewhere fun, take pictures," Bishop said.

The Bull City Selfie Museum is located on 9th Street in downtown Durham and officially opens in early December. It will be the second selfie museum in Durham.

While access to the museum’s courtyard will be free to everyone, general admission inside will cost $25. Ring lights will be provided.