Robert Bush, a champion of expanding access to Charlotte’s arts scene, has died
Robert Bush, the former Arts & Science Council president credited with making Charlotte’s arts scene more accessible, died Thursday.
Bush, who was 70, was hospitalized with COVID-19 over the past week, past ASC board chair Susan Patterson told The Charlotte Observer.
“This man was a real big heart and had a passion that everyone had the opportunity to access the arts and create,” Patterson said. Bush recruited her to join the ASC board in 2016, she said.
“It’s culture for all,” Patterson said of Bush’s view of the arts. “It’s not just for those who can afford an expensive ticket.”
Bush joined the ASC, one of Charlotte’s most prominent cultural groups, in 2000 and served as president from 2014 to 2019.
He “dedicated his 45-year career to making arts and culture more accessible” in Charlotte and across the nation, the ASC said on Twitter in announcing his death.
His work to expand access included Culture Blocks — programming and activities in neighborhoods. And he focused ASC’s project grants to align with community priorities, according to the ASC.
‘Beloved friend and colleague’
Bush also “led the work that led to Levine Center for the Arts,” current ASC President Krista Terrell told the Observer. He led the ASC “to become an equitable organization,” she said.
“He championed emerging and grassroots organizations, creative individuals and more,” she said. “Robert made a lasting impact on the sector.”
Terrell described Bush as “a beloved friend and colleague” who was fun to be around, and had “a true passion for the cultural sector.”
She broke down in tears recalling Bush’s encounter in the early- to mid-2000s with a fifth-grader outside Belk Theatre in uptown.
The boy, who was Black, had just gotten off a bus with other fifth-graders on an ASC-sponsored visit to the theater, she said. The children had never been exposed to Charlotte’s uptown arts and cultural buildings, she said.
“Can I go in that building?” the boy asked after starting at it amazed, Terrell said.
“Yes,” Bush replied. “This is your building. This belongs to you.”
“It really spoke to his passion and work to ensure that everyone belonged,” Terrell said.
Ramesses the Great exhibit
Bush was an influential arts leader well before his time at the ASC.
As director of development at The Mint Museum, he was instrumental in bringing the Ramesses the Great exhibit to Charlotte for four months 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,” ASC leaders said on ArtsandScience.org.
Bush was a past president of Arts North Carolina, a former member of the Governing and National Policy Boards of Americans for the Arts, and a past member of many other arts-related boards, according to the ASC.
In 1984, then-Gov. Jim Hunt awarded Bush the Governor’s Award for meritorious service to the citizens of North Carolina.
Bush received the Legacy Award from the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in 2011 and the Salina Roberts Ottum Award from Americans for the Arts for arts leadership in 2014.
‘He cared deeply’
In 2019, he received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award granted by the state of North Carolina for extraordinary service.
“Robert Bush was a force,” Terrell said. “He was an amazing individual and fierce advocate for arts and culture on the local, state and national level.
“He cared deeply about Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s cultural community and worked hard throughout his career to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, ZIP code, education, socioeconomic status and more, had access to arts and culture experiences,” Terrell said.
Details about services and a celebration of Bush’s life will be announced soon, according to the ASC.
This story was originally published December 8, 2022 at 8:58 PM.