Myrna Colley-Lee, a longtime Charleston resident and recipient of a 2022 Governor’s Arts Awards for "Excellence in Costume Design and Arts Patron," was honored by the Mississippi Senate on Thursday, Feb. 10, with presentation of Senate Concurrent Resolution 540 for her internationally known work as a costume designer as well as being a philanthropist, arts advocate and patron.
Colley-Lee is regarded as one of the foremost costume designers in the Black Theatre Movement, having started her career in the late 1960s and remaining active as a designer today.
Colley-Lee’s stage work has taken her across the United States, including theatres in St. Louis, Milwaukee, New York City, Seattle and her home state of Mississippi.
She has received numerous awards, including Outstanding Costume Design from the National Black Theatre Festival and the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Award, among others.
A permanent collection of her clothing and costumes is held by the Mississippi State University Library.
Colley-Lee proudly calls Tallahatchie County home even though the in-demand costume designer has plied her trade on stages and sets around the country. Her costume design work has been featured at prestigious exhibitions in San Antonio, Detroit and at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson.
She was inducted as a Foundation Member of Phi Beta Kappa at Mississippi State.
Senators John Horhn of District 26, Lydia Chassaniol of District 14 and Albert Butler of District 36 presented the resolution on behalf of colleagues.
