Taylor Swift might be saying “So Long, London” in her much-anticipated upcoming album but one of the city’s top museums is offering the dream job for any Swiftie.

On Thursday, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) released a job listing for a Taylor Swift superfan to advise its curators and explain her importance to the history of art and design, in which the museum specializes.

The hired fan will receive a V&A membership and potentially help influence the museum’s future programming, it said.

They should be able to offer “insights into the culture and artisanry” around the friendship bracelets that Swifties often exchange, as well as the handmade signs frequently displayed at concerts, said the V&A in a statement.

Swapping distinctive friendship bracelets, often featuring the names of Swift songs and albums or the names of the fans themselves, has become one of the rituals associated with attending an “Eras” tour concert.

The tradition was inspired by the lyrics of “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” a track from Swift’s 2022 album “Midnights,” as she sings about making friendship bracelets as a way to connect with others over a shared experience.

Friendship bracelets also play a starring role in the origin story of her relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce. He said in July on his podcast that he had attempted to give Swift a bracelet with his number on it at one of her concerts. She heard about it and got in touch, and the couple started dating.

Artifacts such as these bracelets and the homemade, often ornate, signs that fans take to concerts provide a tangible mark of the economic, cultural and social phenomenon that has been the “Eras” tour, which started in March last year and is due to end in December.

The role is part of the V&A’s efforts to “bring in grassroots expertise in highly specific cultural niches” to complement the “vast curatorial knowledge” of the museum’s experts, it said.

Beside Swifties, the V&A is also looking for superfans of Crocs, drag, emojis and tufting — a technique used in rug-making — to help inform their exhibitions, asking potential applicants to highlight their own collections.

It has already recruited experts in Lego, Pokémon, Gorpcore — a trend in which hiking clothing is worn as an everyday outfit — and Toby jugs, which are made in the shape of a seated person. Tristram Hunt, the museum’s director, said in a statement that the roles will help “discover more about the enormous, and often surprising, creative diversity on offer at the V&A, as well as helping us to learn more about the design stories that are relevant to our audiences today.” (SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【有形的】yǒuxíng de tangible capable of being perceived especially by the sense of touch

【联系】liánxì get in touch communicate, contact

泰勒•斯威夫特可能会在备受期待的新专辑中说“伦敦再见”，但这座城市的一家顶级博物馆正在为她的歌迷提供一份梦寐以求的工作。

上周四，维多利亚与艾尔伯特博物馆（V&A）发布了一份招聘启事，希望斯威夫特的忠粉能为该馆的策展人提供建议，阐释她在艺术设计史上的重要地位。艺术设计是该馆深耕的领域。

据悉，受聘粉丝将获得博物馆的会员资格，可能影响博物馆的未来计划。

维多利亚与艾尔伯特博物馆在一份声明中说，受聘者应该能够“洞悉”霉粉经常交换友谊手链的粉丝文化，以及音乐会上经常出现的自制应援标志。

交换独特的友谊手链已经成为参加时代巡回演唱会的仪式之一，这些手链通常印有斯威夫特歌曲、专辑的名字或者歌迷自己的名字。这一传统的灵感来自斯威夫特2022年专辑《午夜》中的歌词“靠你自己了，孩子”。

友谊手链在斯威夫特与NFL球星特拉维斯•凯尔斯的恋情缘起中也扮演了主角。去年7月，他在播客中说，斯威夫特的一次演唱会上，他曾试图送她一个印有自己球衣号码的手链。斯威夫特听说后联系了他，后来两人开始约会。

这些手链以及歌迷们带去演唱会的华丽自制标牌等手工艺品是时代巡演这一经济、文化和社会现象的独特印记。时代巡演去年三月开始，将于今年十二月结束。

据说，招聘霉粉是维多利亚与艾尔伯特博物馆努力“引进小众文化方面草根专家”的一次尝试，与博物馆专家“丰富的策展知识”形成互补。

除了霉粉，该博物馆还在招聘卡骆驰、变装、表情符号和簇绒（一种地毯制作技术）的超级粉丝，希望他们为展览提供信息，并要求申请者展示自己的藏品。

博物馆已经招募了乐高、宝可梦、Gorpcore（一种将登山服作为日常服装穿着的潮流）和托比壶（造型酷似坐姿人形）方面的专家。

博物馆馆长特里斯特拉姆•亨特在一份声明中说，这些职位将有助于“在博物馆可策展的内容方面发掘令人惊讶的丰富创意，并帮助我们了解更多与今天的观众息息相关的设计故事”。

(Translated by Debra)