Board Spotlight - Sonia Kozlova Clark, Artpark

Artpark & Company. We present, create and promote all that in our understanding make up our collective culture. Currently, we present over 100 programs to 150,000 audiences during a typical summer season with an economic impact of over 10 Million dollars on the local economy. We are 50 years old. Established in 1974 as a collaboration between New York State Parks and Artpark & Company, Artpark welcomes artists to enjoy and be inspired by the stunning nature and rich history of the Niagara River Gorge. Over the decades, Artpark has hosted tens of thousands of groundbreaking visual artists, cutting-edge theater, dance, cirque and street theater artists, beloved bands and musicians representing a multitude of genres, festivals featuring local, national and international artists, poets and writers, and more, earning a worldwide reputation as a special place for people of all ages and walks of life to make and experience art. This living cultural legacy weaves into the area’s history and present-day significance to Western New York’s Indigenous population and the Niagara River and Gorge’s extraordinary natural beauty, accessible to visitors through forested trails, sculpture gardens, and outdoor recreation areas. Artpark is all this and more. Come experience it for yourself. Artpark is all this and more. We welcome the Chamber members to join us individually and as local businesses in experiencing and supporting all that we have to offer.

The Board membership in this Chamber is probably the second most important local organization I am a member of in addition to serving Artpark & Company. In addition, I am a member of various industry associations and groups devoted to promoting cultural advancement both in our country and internationally, among them: ISPA: International Society of Performing Arts; MICC: I co-lead a working group of North American presenters of outdoor Cirque based out of Montreal (the International Market of Contemporary Circus) which convenes a global community of professionals dedicated to the creation, presentation, and touring of contemporary circus in North America and around the world. I serve as an advisor to the nonprofit theater in New York, Urban Stages, among several other professional associations.

Artpark partners and supports a long list of local businesses, including the Lewiston Jazz Festival, the Lewiston Arts Festival, the Peach Festival/Kiwanis Club of Lewiston, the public schools surrounding us through serving their graduations; organizations like People Inc and Empower through our Artpark Bridges program, the residents of the Tuscarora community through a scholarship to the Tuscarora public school and our extensive programming provided at no charge to partnership organizations or recipients of our services. We value all our local businesses and always look for ways to expand our support and partnerships. Please do reach out with your thoughts and ideas and I will ensure that we follow up with our dedicated team. Personally, I would love to support all who provide valuable service and experiences that enhance the quality of life in our community. To name just a couple: Lewiston Jazz Festival, Orange Cat, Great Lakes Real Estate, Kiwanis Club of Lewiston, the Lewiston Senior Center.

I struggle to convince myself to take time off from what I love doing the most: my job, which has so many facets. There is no time off from imagining what or how we can create or present at Artpark. That said, I like to be outdoors; swim (I recently learned flip turns!), listen to long-form music (symphonies, entire albums, etc). I love stories communicated through any medium: music, art, films, books, strangers in a supermarket.

I have so much to learn about leadership. But if I had to give "advice", I would say we should appreciate more the importance of learning and enjoying the very experience of persevering through all that stands in the way of an established strategy or a vision. At the same time, it is important to be always ready for this strategy or vision to change as the result of all that is learned along the way. And it is harder than might seem. For Artpark, we lead through an acknowledgment of the diversity of voices that constitute our community, which includes the local residents, regional visitors, but also the artists who comprise a large portion of it; our leadership values focus on creative excellence, community, respect and constant transformation. We recently revised our statement of mission, vision and values, please see artpark.net/about-artpark section to learn more. And thank you for being such an important part of our community.