Ann Chotard*

Wildwood Director Believes in Steady Growth

Although more than 81,000 people took part in the Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts’ various program last year, its founder and artistic director says the 8-year-old organization has barely touched the surface of what it can be.

In a time when many arts centers are struggling with deficits because of cutback in arts funding, Ann Chotard has been able to keep Wildwood and its predecessor, the Arkansas Opera Theatre, in the black for 25 years.

She’s done it, Chotard says, by being overly conservative and trying to grow slowly.

This will be the ninth year for the Wildwood Festival of Music and the Arts, and it has grown each year. There have been calls for an instant expansion of the programming, but Chotard has resisted, instead focusing on developing a sponsor base and loyal patrons of the events.

“With all the competition for the entertainment dollar, we have to be innovative and change with the times. That takes a great deal of effort,” Chotard says.

The west Little Rock center’s festival, although it includes all art forms, focuses on opera. “Young people nationwide are flocking to opera,” she says, attributing it to the influence of MTV. Of the arts, opera offers the great visual impact that young people have grown used to by watching music videos, she adds.

Wildwood has averaged 5.6 percent growth over the past couple of years. The organization posted revenue of $1.5 million last year.

Chotard says one of her greatest strengths is the determination to stick with a project until completion. And although she says she’s shy, she had the boldness to raise $8.3 million and secure the gift of 105 acres for Wildwood. How? “I asked.”

“Obviously, we have a product that the people want,” Chotard says. There’s been an increase in funding each year.

“I like to dream. It is reaching out for the intangible and setting lofty goals that help you reach those milestones in your life that are ‘bigger than you’ and create a sense of deep satisfaction.”

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