BTS’s RM selected among 35 ‘Innovators’ in the art scene by American art news outlet Artnet.com

BTS leader RM has been selected as one of 35 “Innovators” in the art scene by American art news outlet Artnet.com, according to its list published on Wednesday.

Artnet announced the list in an article titled “Introducing the 2022 Artnet Innovators List: 35 Game-Changers, Dreamers, and Mavericks Transforming the Art Industry.” RM is listed under a category dubbed “The Investors.”

The outlet introduced the 28-year-old singer as a “musician, collector and patron” based in Seoul.

“RM, the leader of global K-pop sensation BTS, has made no secret of his love for art,” reads his introduction. “He’s an avid collector, buying works by Korean artists […] He’s also a savvy art patron with an enormous reach on social media, inspiring droves of BTS fans to seek out exhibitions ranging from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s Philip Guston show to presentations of traditional Korean white porcelain moon jars in Hong Kong and Korea.”

RM, whose real name is Kim Nam-joon, donated 100 million won ($71,590) for the second year in a row for the preservation and restoration of Korean artifacts outside of the country, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation in September.

He is set to drop his first official solo full-length album “Indigo” on Friday.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]