ASC is mourning the passing of past ASC President Robert Bush. Bush passed away the morning of Thursday, Dec. 8. He was 70.

Bush dedicated his 45-year career to making arts and culture more accessible in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and throughout the U.S. He joined ASC in 2000 and served as president from 2014 to 2019. His work to expand access to arts and culture experiences in Charlotte-Mecklenburg included establishing Culture Blocks to serve residents at the neighborhood level, transitioning ASC’s project grants to align with community priorities such as building community, bridging differences and increasing funding to support individual creatives across the spectrum of their careers.

His work not only impacted Mecklenburg County but the state of North Carolina as well. In his role as Director of Development at The Mint Museum, he was instrumental in bringing the Ramesses the Great exhibit to Charlotte for a four-month stay in the 1980s. More than 600,000 people came to our region from across the U.S. to experience the exhibit, which is one of the largest cultural events in the history of this community and one of the state’s largest.

A past president of Arts North Carolina, he is a former member of both the Governing and National Policy Boards of Americans for the Arts, and the Boards of Directors of Community Building Initiative, Urban League of Central Carolinas, Indiana Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, Partners in Out-of-School Time, and The NAMES Project (the AIDS Memorial Quilt) where he served as board chair. In 1984, he received the Governor’s Award for meritorious service to the citizens of North Carolina from Governor James B. Hunt and in 2011, the Legacy Award from the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. In 2014, Bush received the Salina Roberts Ottum Award from Americans for the Arts for arts leadership and, in 2019, he received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award granted by the state of North Carolina to individuals that have shown extraordinary service to the state.

These awards and recognitions are the result of Bush’s work to ensure that arts and culture are accessible and valued throughout our county and region. Charlotte-Mecklenburg is a better place because of Bush and he will be missed.

A celebration of Robert’s life will be held on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 4:30 p.m. at Drendel Auditorium in the Arts and Science Center at the SALT Block, 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC. 

An event commemorating Robert’s life will be held in Charlotte at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Robert’s memory may be made to the Arts & Science Council, P.O. Box 30246, Charlotte, NC 28230 or United Arts Council of Catawba County, 231 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC 28601.

His obituary: https://www.bass-smithfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Robert-Edward-Bush-Jr?obId=26619053#/celebrationWall