Big Bang’s T.O.P. to curate art auction

The singer Choi Seung-hyun, better known by his stage name T.O.P, from the South Korean band Big Bang, will be curating a contemporary art sale on Oct 3, 2016, for Sotheby’s Hong Kong.

T.O.P. makes up one of the five members of K-pop rapper/boy band Big Bang, who first shot to fame in 2007. They have since amassed an enormous fan base, which brands such as Sotheby’s are now looking to benefit from in order to encourage a younger audience to get interested and involved in the art market.

Entitled #TTTOP in recognition of his Instagram handle, followed by five million people, the Sotheby’s sale is aimed at young art buyers of the same generation as T.O.P. although details about exactly what the contents of the auction will be have not yet been announced.

More known for his singing and rapping, T.O.P is apparently a fan and collector of modern art as well, especially contemporary furniture, explaining that, “All the women in my family, including my mother, majored in art. They were all either artists or art teachers.”

Instead of picking up a paintbrush, however, T.O.P “preferred looking at art – and immersing (himself) in it – to actually painting things.”

The collaboration marks the first time that Sotheby’s Hong Kong has invited a young collector to curate, as well as T.O.P’s curatorial debut. However, the musician is already familiar with the arts scene, co-curating the contemporary Asian art exhibition The Eye Zone at ArtScience Museum in Singapore, 2015. He was also awarded the Visual Culture prize at the Prudential Eye Awards in the same year.

A portion of the proceeds raised during the auction will go towards the Asian Cultural Council, which offers grants, programs and support to artists in order to encourage cultural exchange. – AFP Relaxnews

 

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