Christina Ferraro is a graduate student at the University of Southern California pursuing a Master’s degree in Curatorial Practice and the Public Sphere. She is currently enrolled in the Performance Studies Graduate Program and is an active member of the Transnational Fandom Research Group. She holds her BFA in Studio Art & Art History from Loyola Marymount University, with an area emphasis in Art Education.

Her thesis is grounded in her undergraduate research on the visionary Fluxus multi-media artist, Nam June Paik. Paik’s visual legacy and ideologies on globalism, as it relates to televisual media, have inspired her to continue research on contemporary Korean visual popular media culture compared to Paik’s vision for an interconnected future, and follows the visual legacy of Paik’s works as seen in K-pop (Korean popular music) media. Inspired by SM Entertainment founder Soo Man Lee’s ethos that K-pop is “music that is seen” as well as heard globally, she aspires to validate her personal interest in K-pop as a fan-academic and bridge it with her passion for critical studies, performance studies, fandom studies, and art history.

Her background as a studio artist and being the daughter of a professional musician has given her a deep-rooted appreciation for all forms of art, and in her curatorial practice, she hopes to bridge her passions for art, music, and popular culture. She currently balances being a Teaching Assistant at USC Roski as well as three positions at Hollywood Studio Gallery as a digital archivist, product photographer, and graphic designer. In her spare time, she loves going to concerts (or Dodgers games), watching music videos, playing retro video games, going to the movies, and getting boba with friends.