An impoverished Taylor Swift fan who was once given a £2,300 handout from the singer has been appointed as one of Britain’s first “Swiftie” museum advisers.
India Meade is one of four superfans appointed by the Victoria and Albert Museum after more than 1,000 British-based fans of the pop superstar applied for the posts.
The “Swifties” join the 174-year-old museum’s expanding cast of superfans, alongside experts in Toby jugs, Pokémon cards, Gorpcore clothing and Lego.
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Kate Bailey, a senior curator at the museum, said the 1,000 applications for the Swiftie posts was “a testament to Taylor Swift’s impact on popular culture”.
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“The depth of knowledge and passion for her work displayed by the applicants was truly astounding and as a result, narrowing it down to just four candidates was an arduous process, with each applicant bringing unique perspectives and expertise,” Bailey added.
“We were thrilled to find individuals who could provide so much enthusiasm and their own insights into Swift’s artistry.”
Swift had previously helped Meade out after she posted online about having lost her job during the pandemic. Swift wrote to her: “I’m so sorry things are tough right now and I’d like to gift you $3000 to help to ease that strain.”
Meade, 28, who has been a Swift fan since her teens, said she was delighted to have been selected by the V&A.
“Having been a Swiftie since I was 13, I grew up blogging and making graphics about pop culture and Taylor’s music,” she said.
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“It’s been a great privilege to work together with the other superfans and share our collective knowledge with the amazing team here.
“As someone who wrote their undergraduate dissertation on fandom years ago, I’m excited to see the topic taken seriously and examined in a space as prestigious as the V&A.”
The other three superfans chosen by the museum are Kelsey Barnes, 31, a journalist with The Independent, Iona Murphy, 27, a literature lecturer, and Molly Gilroy, 27, a conservation charity worker.
Murphy said being chosen was “beyond my wildest dreams” adding: “I still wake up in the morning full of excitement knowing that I get to talk about Taylor Swift to people who genuinely care.”
The museum, which in recent years has held exhibitions on Pink Floyd and David Bowie, has tapped into the superfans’ knowledge for an exhibition opening next week.
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Taylor Swift: Songbook Trail, which opens on July 27 with free entry at the London venue, will feature 16 outfits worn by the multiple Grammy-winning musician. Itwill also display instruments, awards and storyboards from her various stage projects.
Bailey said each of the 16 “looks” celebrates a “chapter in the artist’s musical journey”.
Swift is currently having an economic as well as cultural impact on Britain through the UK leg of her Eras world tour, which it is thought will be the first music tour to bring in more than $1 billion (£771 million) in revenues.
Economists have suggested that demand for accommodation in the cities Swift has performed in, including Edinburgh, Liverpool and London, led to an overall 8.8 per cent rise in hotel prices which was enough to prevent inflation falling below its symbolic 2 per cent level.
She is due to return to perform more shows at Wembley next month.
