Keep Carolyn’s Memory Alive.
Contribute to the Archive.
Carolyn’s Story
Born in Humble, Texas on November 19th, 1990, Carolyn Hilton Bush was a gregarious, ambitious, smart-mouthed poet —a tornado of charisma, style, wit and kindness. She is not the sort of person whose magnitude one can convey in a cocktail party anecdote, which is why we have conceived of this archive as a place for her dynamic presence to endure.
At the age of six, Carolyn’s family relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida where she was raised until moving to New York for college. She attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson and moved to New York City in 2012 to continue her education at the New School.
Carolyn loved books and read voraciously. She was forever engaged in the pursuit of knowledge and creative practice.
On the night of September 28, 2016, at the age of twenty-five, Carolyn Bush was brutally stabbed to death in her New York City apartment by her roommate. This archive is dedicated to keeping her luminous memory alive.
this archive belongs to everyone.
The Carolyn Bush Living Archive is a place for all things Carolyn. We collect, organize, and make accessible photographs, creative writing, oral histories, visual art, trial documents and shared memories about and inspired by Carolyn Bush. We welcome all to contribute submissions about Carolyn, anonymously or with credit given to the contributor, whichever is preferred.
We do not wish to be gate keepers but rather a point of access for anyone who loved Carolyn or is curious to learn more about her, her life, and her work.
We consider the archive open source. Our intention is to include anything within reason so that the archive may live on, as dynamic and diverse in its content as Carolyn was during her time on earth.
Please share this project to help us achieve our mission of honoring the legacy of our dear friend. No matter how short or small the moment maybe, we would love to have it as a part of our collective story of the beloved Carolyn Hilton Bush.
Note that all submissions will be vetted to ensure legal compliance. All submissions deemed appropriate will be added to the archive.
Pamela Jean Tinnen
founder, curator and archivist
Carolyn’s friend since childhood, Pamela conceived of the Carolyn Bush Living Archive in 2019 and oversees its management and curation.
Pamela works a curator, art dealer and writer based in New York. Pamela has worked for over a decade as a curator specializing in public-art at NYU, as well as for contemporary art galleries. In 2019, she founded her gallery, High Priestess Project where she focuses on emerging artists with exceptional talent and upmarket appeal. She holds an MA in Museum Studies from New York University, and a BA in Literature from the University of South Florida.
Sarah Gerard
Friend of Carolyn and author Sarah Gerard is generously contributing proceeds from the sale of the book of Carrie Carolyn Coco to fund the Carolyn Bush Living Archive.
Sarah has authored several other books including the essay collection Sunshine State, a New York Times Critics’ and NPR Best Book of the Year, a finalist for the Southern Book Prize, and longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award; the novels True Love and Binary Star, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Prize; a coauthored art book, Recycle; and the chapbook The Butter House.