The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is bracing for an unprecedented wave of visitors, and the reason has as much to do with pop music as it does with painting and sculpture. RM, the leader of the globally celebrated K-pop group BTS, is displaying works from his personal art collection at the museum for the first time, and fans are responding in force.
The exhibition, titled "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me," opened with a sold-out first day of previews, drawing a mix of seasoned museum-goers and first-time visitors alike. The scale of the response has prompted the museum to prepare accordingly.
"This is hands down the most inventory that we've ever front-loaded for an exhibition," said Shane Salvata, the museum's director of retail, describing the gift shop's unusually large stock of merchandise ahead of the show. The comment underscores just how significant the anticipated foot traffic is for the institution.
Among those who secured tickets for the opening previews were Joi Karra and Bre Walker, two Bay Area residents in their twenties who met a few months ago at a BTS-themed event that Walker organizes locally. Their presence reflects the way the group's fandom has become a community-building force in cities around the world.
Karra, a college student, brings both an existing appreciation for art and an entrepreneurial streak tied to her fandom. She runs a side business producing BTS-inspired pins and other accessories, and she noted that she has visited SFMOMA on numerous occasions before this exhibition.
Walker, by contrast, described herself as someone without a prior connection to the art world. She said the exhibition marks her first time setting foot inside an art museum, and she attributed that decision directly to RM, whom she referred to by his birth name, Kim Nam-joon.
That distinction matters to observers of the phenomenon: RM's influence is drawing individuals into cultural spaces they might never have entered otherwise, effectively converting pop culture enthusiasm into museum attendance.
RM, born Kim Nam-joon, has performed under his current stage name for nearly a decade, having originally debuted as "Rap Monster" before shortening it. Beyond his musical output, he has cultivated a public identity as a devoted art enthusiast and collector.
His interest in painting and sculpture dates back roughly ten years. That passion has fed into his creative work, inspiring songs such as "Yun," which pays tribute to Yun Hyong-keun, a prominent 20th-century Korean abstract artist.
The BTS fanbase, known collectively as ARMY — an acronym standing for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth" — has even coined a term to describe the lifestyle that orbits RM's personal interests. They call it "Namjooning."
Karra offered a straightforward explanation of the concept: it refers to engaging in the same kinds of activities that Kim Nam-joon enjoys. Visiting museums and building an art collection sit at the heart of that practice.
What makes the SFMOMA exhibition notable is that it represents the first time RM has placed works from his own collection on public view in a museum setting. The show thus functions as both an art exhibition and a window into the tastes of a pop star whose cultural footprint extends well beyond music.
The presence of merchandise-hungry fans alongside traditional museum patrons illustrates a broader trend in the art world: institutions are increasingly finding that celebrity curation can serve as a gateway, bringing new and younger audiences through their doors.
For SFMOMA, the exhibition arrives with commercial as well as cultural implications. A surge in gift shop sales, driven by fans eager for souvenirs, could provide a meaningful revenue boost at a time when museums everywhere are competing for attention and discretionary spending.
For fans like Walker, the experience represents something more personal. Standing in a gallery surrounded by objects chosen by an artist they admire transforms admiration into a tangible encounter, one that connects a global pop phenomenon to a specific physical place in San Francisco.
As the exhibition's run continues, the museum expects sustained interest from ARMY members who treat the show as a pilgrimage of sorts. Whether that translates into a lasting relationship between those visitors and the museum remains an open question, but the initial evidence suggests RM's pull is powerful enough to fill galleries, move merchandise, and introduce new faces to the world of fine art.
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