Jessye Norman commanded the stage.
At five-feet-11-inches tall, she drew attention on stage via her statuesque figure, her voice which critics described as “massive” and “opulent” and her attention to her own fashion style.
“She had such a singular sense of style – not traditional in any sense,” said Russell Joel Brown, who is working as a creative consultant to Kenneth Green, curator of the Clothes Story Exhibit, which will present a collection of Jessye Norman’s clothing beginning Oct. 8 at the South Fulton County Southwest Arts Center in Atlanta.
The Jessye Norman School of the Arts has more than 250 pieces of the Augusta-born opera singer’s clothing. Some of these have been on display at the Greene Street school.
About a year ago, Brown talked with Gary Dennis, the school’s executive director, about possible ideas to help raise money and awareness for Augusta non-profit. Brown connected the school with his friend, Green.
“We did talk, and I showed him some of the clothing, and I told him we’d love to do something with it,” said Dennis of Green. “Fortunately, he’d already committed to the South Fulton County Southwest Arts Center in fall of this year. It seemed like the timing was fortuitous.”
Green has a lengthy resume. A former casting director at Walt Disney World in Orlando, he has been on the faculty at the University of California Irvine, and Spelman College in Atlanta, where he served as Director of Cultural Initiatives in the Office of College Relations.
He’s also worked as a choreographer for events such as the Six Flags Over Georgia’s 50th Anniversary Show Celebration, City Springs Theatre production of the Color Purple and Walt Disney World Christmas Specials and Easter Specials and park parades.
Other iterations of his Clothes Story Exhibit have been presented in California and the campus of Harvard University. They highlight African American women’s history through clothing.
While the school had 250 pieces from Norman’s wardrobe, this exhibit focuses more on her glamorous side.
“The clothing we have chosen is recital and reception attire — gowns, like only the famous and only the most stylish of opera singers would be wearing,” Brown said.
Green is recreating one of Norman’s most iconic looks for the exhibit, the 1989 French flag-inspired gown she wore for the 200th anniversary of Bastille Day.
The exhibit will run for about two weeks and end the weekend of the Guiding Stars Gala to benefit the school. It will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Saint Paul’s Church River Room and will honor Dr. Rosalyn Floyd. Limited tickets are available; go here for more information.
If you can’t make it to Atlanta to see the exhibit, don’t worry. It will be coming to the Morris Museum of Art in summer 2027.
Dennis said the exhibit is being funded in Atlanta through private donations, and the Morris Museum exhibit is funded through a grant from the Porter Fleming Foundation.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
