An exhibition featuring the personal art collection of RM (Kim Nam-joon), leader of global superstar group BTS, is becoming a major driving force in attracting large numbers of visitors to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and helping it recover financially after a prolonged period of crisis.
According to British newspaper The Guardian on the 24th (local time), the special exhibition titled RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me officially opened at SFMOMA on the 3rd and recorded advance ticket bookings six times higher than the museum’s previous record. To date, more than 66,000 tickets have been sold.
The exhibition, which showcases RM’s personal art collection, opened on October 3 and will run until February 7, 2027.
Official merchandise for the exhibition also sold out both online and in stores just three hours after going on sale. Shane Salvata, SFMOMA’s Director of Retail, told The Guardian, "It is on a completely different level from anything we have experienced while running the museum so far, and it is a miraculous phenomenon that we will likely never encounter again".
These impressive figures are directly contributing to the museum’s financial recovery.
The lingering effects of the pandemic, which caused visitor numbers to drop sharply, declining federal funding, and a slowdown in San Francisco’s tourism industry left SFMOMA with a deficit of $5 million (approximately 6.9 billion won) last year. The museum subsequently entered a period of austerity, cutting 7.5% of its workforce and lowering its annual visitor target to 600,000—well below the figures recorded in previous years.
The Guardian noted that RM’s exhibition has brought a clear financial boost to the museum. The newspaper also described it as the latest in a series of celebrity collaborations, following projects such as the 2024 exhibition by Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys at the Brooklyn Museum, while highlighting its exceptional execution and sophistication in concept and curation.
The exhibition began to take shape two years ago, after the museum approached RM with the proposal while he was completing his mandatory military service. A total of 178 artworks are on display, including 142 pieces from RM’s personal collection and 36 works from SFMOMA’s own collection.
Notably, Yun Hyong-keun’s Umber Blue is displayed alongside Mark Rothko’s No. 24, while Lee Ung-no’s People is accompanied by a description written by RM himself. Captions for the artworks and an audio guide personally prepared by RM are also available to visitors.
Project Manager & co-curator América Castillo described: "I mean his involvement was in every aspect and it is a huge undertaking to curate a show of this size. It's nearly 200 artworks. There's so much history and so many stories to be told".
Meanwhile, at the press conference introducing the exhibition late last month, RM spoke about its significance, saying, "This exhibition is essentially quite a long self-introduction of who I am." He also opened up about his motivation: “As a young Korean, I began collecting artworks with the hope of contributing a newer, younger, and perhaps more positive perspective and way of seeing things. That journey eventually led to the creation of today’s exhibition.”
On opening day, large crowds of fans from around the world, including visitors from London, gathered outside the museum. The Guardian suggested that RM’s widespread recognition and personal dedication have helped bring an entirely new generation of visitors into the museum.
Castillo also shared an emotional observation: “To actually see it in the galleries … people are crying in front of you. You’re never going to expect that. It’s a beautiful surprise.”
