AN ONGOING PORTRAIT OF BTS ARMY

Hello, friend! I'm Amanda. I'm a writer, photographer, artist, and fellow ARMY, and I'm beginning a new project that I'm incredibly excited about. I'd love to tell you about it and invite you to be a part of it.

Through photographs and interviews, I want to create a living portrait of ARMY. I'm fascinated by the incredible diversity, resilience, creativity, and humanity of the people who make up this community. Every one of us has our own story, our own relationship with BTS, and our own reason for staying.

We often say that BTS finds us when we need them most. Whether that's true for you or not, I think many of us have experienced the extraordinary power of this community. I've had the privilege of meeting so many thoughtful, resilient, and vibrant people through our shared love of BTS, and I believe our stories deserve to be witnessed.

I’m also aware that, as ARMY, we’re often misunderstood. The world at large makes assumptions about us, dismisses us, and reduces us to stereotypes without taking the time to look more deeply at what it is we’re actually doing here, and why this group and fandom matter so deeply to us.

The Project

I want to create an editorial look at the wide variety of people who make up the BTS fandom through interviews, conversations and photography.

I understand that having your portrait taken can feel intimidating, especially when that photograph is going to be shared with strangers on the internet. The portraits I make of ARMYs can be playful, elaborate, glamorous, quiet, vulnerable, or completely ordinary. You are welcome to reveal yourself boldly, or to obscure your face and identity. We can create an artistic vision for the visual component of your feature that feels safe in its representation of who you are and the uniqueness you contribute to the fandom.

(You can see examples of my photography HERE and HERE.)

I'll also conduct an in-depth interview with each participant. From those conversations, I'll write a profile about you, exploring your unique story, your connection to BTS, and what being ARMY has meant in your life.

For participants who are able to visit my studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I'll also be recording interviews for a companion podcast. (If you're located elsewhere, we may still be able to arrange a recording in another space or remotely. I’m still figuring the audio part out!)

Being ARMY is one of the greatest gifts I've ever given myself. It has brought me friendship, joy, courage, inspiration, and a profound sense of belonging. This project is my way of honoring that gift by helping tell the stories of the remarkable people who make this community what it is.

It is also a part of my life that I feel like isn’t well understood or supported, even by people close to me. ARMY in its glorious diversity deserved to be studied, to be seen, and most of all, we deserve to speak for ourselves about who we are.

If you'd like to participate in Constellation, I'd love to hear from you. Please fill out the application below, and I'll be in touch about the next steps and the logistics of making it happen.

Thank you so much for being here.

I purple yooouuu! 💜