The reality of BTS, which the group has been mentioning ahead of the release of its new album "Map of the Soul: 7," has been revealed. With BTS releasing pre-released songs on Friday with their comeback trailer "Interlude: Shadow," the new concept art project "Connect, BTS" opened this Tuesday, January 15, and will be held simultaneously at the leading art museums in all around the world.
It is a large international art project that will weave world-class art museums under the title of "Connect, BTS." BTS recently unveiled its comeback schedule and mentioned the 14th, 15th, 21st, and 28th of January and February 5 in conjunction with London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Seoul, and New York.
On the morning of the 14th local time, a live video of the Global Superstar BTS unexpectedly emerged in Serpentine Gallery located inside Hyde Park London, England. "It is an honor to participate in 'CONNECT, BTS' with such distinguished artists from around the world."
"Connect, BTS" is not a project where BTS creates art or displays BTS-inspired artworks. According to Lee Daehyung, curator of the Korean Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale who proposed the exhibition and participated as co-curator, "The philosophy BTS has emphasized through music - support for diversity and respect for the underprivileged - is that artists and curators share an exhibition by city (connecting). BTS' role is to participate in the blueprint of the plan as the focal point and support the exhibition with several other actors."
Based on BTS' understanding and respect for contemporary art, the curator said, "The project chose to connect art with music at a distance rather than forcibly combining it with music," adding, "The purpose of the exhibition is to make it connect while respecting human diversity through art." Each exhibition deals with environmental, gender, and racial issues, which are essential topics of modern society.
First of all, London's Serpentine Gallery will present Danish writer Jacob K. Stinson's video "Catharsis," a digital simulation of forest growth, from January 14 to March 15. "My work is about connecting digital technology with nature," Stinson said. "I'm happy to participate in this exhibition that connects different genres of art with different regions."
In a video greeting, BTS said, "We each come from a different cultural background, we go through different lives and talk in different languages," adding that contemporary art and music are also different worlds. "The project is especially meaningful for us because it truly represents this diversity and creates our common positive message towards the world," he stressed.
All exhibitions of "Connect, BTS" will be released free of charge and will present different artists and curators on every destination that everyone should look forward to. The project is also read as BTS taking the lead in narrowing the distance between modern art and the public beyond the boundaries of music under the big theme of "Diversity." Visitors to each museum can watch exclusive videos of BTS explaining the work as it is also available on their official 'Connect, BTS' website (www.connect-bts.com).
