A public memorial service celebrating the professional legacy of Michael Rush, the founding director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, will be held at the museum June 14. Additional details will be released shortly.
Rush died March 27 after a courageous two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He began his tenure at MSU in 2010 and was instrumental in the completion of the visionary 46,000-square-foot contemporary art museum, which opened in November 2012.
A prodigious essayist and art critic as well as a sought-after public speaker, Rush was a passionate admirer and rigorous advocate for the traditional arts. Additionally he was recognized internationally as a keen observer of developments in the time-based arts, performance, video and new media art. He was the author of pioneering surveys on these subjects, most notably “New Media in Late 20th Century Art” (1999), “Video Art” (2003, 2007) and “New Media in Art “(2005), all published by Thames and Hudson.
The Drawing Center in New York City will hold a service in Rush’s memory June 2. Caitlin Doherty, curator and deputy director of curatorial affairs, and Min Jung Kim, deputy director of external relations, will be in attendance on behalf of the Broad MSU.
Donations in Rush’s memory will supplement the Michael Rush Prize for Creative Exploration at MSU. MSU undergraduate and postgraduate students from across the university will be invited to submit evidence of their creative exploration, with an emphasis placed on collaboration, vision and innovation. A panel of representatives from the Broad MSU and others at the university will review the entries.