New Arts Association in Newton County Executive Director Abigail Morgan Coggin, like her predecessor, has dedicated over 20 years to expanding fine arts offerings in and around Covington. However, when she started working for the association, she arrived without an arts background.
“The flexibility to work part-time and enjoy a good work-home balance drew me to the job. I organized our first Kids Camp in 2002 while I was six months pregnant,” Coggin said. “All of our staff are part-time, and all except me are moms to young children. We’ve had five babies born over a period of two years.” Most current staff also grew up singing or dancing with the association. “That really tells you something,” Coggin said, “when former students want to come back and support you.”
“They learn strengths such as how not to be fearful when put on the spot.”
Abigail Morgan Coggin
Logistics and organization come more naturally to Coggin than singing or dancing. She describes her partnership with former director Buncie Hay Lanners as wonderfully symbiotic one.
“Buncie is very passionate about the arts,” Coggin said. “She was the outgoing cheerleader, the one with big ideas. I was the one in the background providing the reality checks: Do we have the resources to make sure this works?” Lanners stepped back to a more consultative role over the past year, a gradual shift that allowed her to build a new home in North Carolina while still guiding the association’s team up until her retirement in March. “Even when she was out of town,” Coggin said, “we could call and ask for her advice.”
Coggin believes open communication will continue well beyond Lanners’ exit. The new director holds a degree in political science and has served on the Newton County School Board since 2010. Though she has chosen not to run for reelection at the end of her current term in December, the sixth-generation Newton Countian remains committed to seeing local youth succeed in all areas. Her role as the Arts Association’s executive director allows her to continue doing so.
“It’s amazing when you see a student who is so shy [that] their face turns red when you ask them a question, but then you see them speaking so confidently onstage. One student came back years later and said it was a life-changing experience. The arts provide a completely different background knowledge,” Coggin said. “They learn strengths such as how not to be fearful when put on the spot.”
Coggin’s vision for the future matches Lanners’ legacy: to continue providing the best local access to fine arts education. “We have phenomenal partnerships with the City of Covington, donors and volunteers,” she said. Whether it’s the Summer Concert Series, an Oxford Singers concert or a ballet or theater performance, the power of the arts can be found in the unity it creates.
“Each event brings together people from widely different backgrounds,” Coggin said. “We are very good at that.”
Click here to read more stories by Kari Apted.
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