Sincerely Yours, ARMY: Exploring Fandom as Curatorial Methodology

Abstract

Sophia Cai brings together BTS and ARMY as a case study for applying fandom as an expanded curatorial methodology with a potential to activate more inclusive means of engagement with contemporary art audiences and practitioners. Focusing on two recent curatorial projects, “Sincerely Yours, ARMY: Exploring Fandom as Curatorial Methodology,” suggests that fandom and fan culture might offer a novel lens through which to rethink intersections of art and identity outside of traditional exhibition formats, art institutions, and circuits. In addition, this chapter will also consider fandom as a strategy for reaching more diverse audiences outside of traditional exhibition formats, art institutions, and circuits. Finally, a case is made for considering the relevance of fandom to curatorial methodologies as a political practice—particularly in challenging the long-dominant patriarchal Eurocentric discourses of art history from a diasporic Asian and feminist subjectivity.