The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is bracing for an unprecedented surge of visitors over the coming months, and the reason has as much to do with pop culture as it does with fine art. RM, the leader of the globally renowned K-pop group BTS, is putting pieces from his own private art collection on public display for the very first time, and the museum is pulling out all the stops to accommodate the fans expected to arrive in droves.
The exhibition, titled "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me," opened its first day of previews as a sold-out event, with throngs of admirers packing the galleries. The scale of interest has prompted the museum's retail team to take extraordinary measures. According to Shane Salvata, SFMOMA's director of retail, the gift shop has never stocked up so heavily in advance of any exhibition in the institution's history. That comment alone underscores how significantly the K-pop star's involvement has shifted expectations for attendance and merchandise sales.
Among those who secured a spot on the opening day were Joi Karra and Bre Walker, two Bay Area residents in their twenties. The pair first crossed paths a few months earlier at a local BTS-themed gathering that Walker helps organize. Their friendship reflects the broader social dimension of BTS fandom, which often functions as a community built around shared enthusiasm for the group and its members.
Karra, a college student, embodies that enthusiasm in a particularly creative way. She runs a side business producing pins and other accessories inspired by BTS. At the same time, she described herself as someone with a genuine, long-standing appreciation for art and museums, noting that she had visited SFMOMA on numerous occasions well before this exhibition. For her, the show represents a natural intersection of two passions.
Walker's situation is quite different. She readily admitted that she does not consider herself an arts-oriented person and that this marked her first visit to an art museum of any kind. The sole reason for her presence, she explained, was Kim Nam-joon, the performer's real name. RM previously performed under the name "Rap Monster" but adopted the abbreviated version nearly ten years ago.
That kind of influence illustrates the unusual crossover appeal RM commands. His fanbase, known collectively as ARMY, an acronym standing for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth," has even coined a term to describe the lifestyle tied to his personal interests: "Namjooning." As Karra explained, the word refers to engaging in all the activities that Nam-joon himself enjoys.
Visiting museums and acquiring art sit at the heart of Namjooning. RM started pursuing these hobbies roughly a decade ago, gradually building a reputation as a serious collector and a frequent presence in gallery and museum spaces around the world. His dedication to painting and sculpture has even fed into his music, with works such as "Yun," a song inspired by the 20th century Korean abstract artist Yun Hyong-keun, demonstrating how deeply visual art has shaped his creative output.
The exhibition's arrival at SFMOMA marks a notable moment for both the museum and the artist. For SFMOMA, it presents an opportunity to draw in audiences who might not otherwise set foot in a contemporary art institution. For RM, it represents a milestone in his evolving identity as a collector, moving his personal selections from private enjoyment into a public, curatorial context for the first time.
The museum's preparations suggest it anticipates a sustained wave of visitors rather than a brief spike. The heavy front-loading of merchandise inventory points to expectations that fans will continue streaming through the doors throughout the exhibition's run, eager to take home a tangible connection to the experience. Such demand can translate into substantial revenue and heightened visibility for the institution.
Beyond the commercial considerations, the show raises interesting questions about how fandoms can reshape cultural institutions. When a pop star's personal taste becomes a museum attraction, the boundaries between celebrity culture and the art world blur in productive ways. Visitors like Walker, who came primarily out of loyalty to RM, may leave with a newfound appreciation for the works on display — a kind of gateway effect that museums have long hoped to achieve.
The pairing of RM's name with SFMOMA also highlights the growing global influence of Korean pop culture and its capacity to intersect with established Western art institutions. The exhibition places Korean artists and RM's curatorial sensibilities within a major American museum context, offering audiences a chance to encounter works they might not seek out independently.
For ARMY members, the exhibition is more than a display of artworks; it is an extension of their connection to the artist they admire. The phenomenon of Namjooning has transformed museum-going into an activity that carries emotional and communal meaning for fans, turning what is often a solitary pursuit into a shared experience of discovery.
As the exhibition continues, SFMOMA will likely serve as a case study in how celebrity-driven programming can bring new audiences into cultural spaces while also testing the patience and resources of museum staff. If the sold-out previews are any indication, the months ahead will be busy ones, with the gift shop and galleries alike operating at full capacity.
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