BTS launches global art initiative with installations across five cities

BTS, the seven-member K-pop band formed in Seoul in 2013, has launched an international art initiative featuring projects by artists including Antony Gormley, Ann Veronica Janssens, and Tomás Saraceno across five cities on four continents. The initiative, which aligns with the group's philosophy of 'love and care,' addresses themes like environmental responsibility and planetary habitation. In London, the Serpentine Galleries will present Catharsis by Jakob Kudsk Steensen, while Berlin's Gropius Bau stages Rituals of Care with performances by Jelili Atiku, boychild, and Bill Fontana. Seoul's Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) will show works by Ann Veronica Janssens and Yiyun Kang, and Antony Gormley is creating a new installation for Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 3 in New York. Tomás Saraceno's Fly with Aerocene Pacha at Salinas Grandes in Argentina involves floating over a salt lake using only sun and air, without fossil fuels or helium. The band stated that the project represents diversity and creates a collective, positive message, aiming to return love and support from fans and audiences. Curator Daehyung Lee noted that the initiative offers diverse responses to the world and highlights BTS's support for diversity and care for the periphery. BTS has sold sixteen million albums in South Korea and was the second best-selling artist worldwide in 2018, contributing over $4.65 billion to South Korea's economy in 2019, equivalent to 0.3% of its GDP.