This week, we are kicking off our new Alumni Highlight series with Elena Paul ’85. I had the opportunity to talk with Paul who has worn many hats throughout her career that merge the legal and the artistic. Paul knew she wanted to be a lawyer in the arts ever since she participated in the Davidson in Washington program, where she observed lawyers at the External Affairs Department of the National Gallery of Art.
Having matriculated at Harvard Law School directly after Davidson, Paul reflects on how Harvard differed from Davidson in ways she didn’t expect. She discusses a sense of “genuine interest” and “intellectual curiosity” that pervaded Davidson’s environment of “openness” and a willingness to explore new ideas. While acknowledging that Davidson was not without its challenges, Paul highlights the well roundedness that characterizes a Davidson education, rather than an narrow focus on one given field.
After Harvard, Paul had a stint at a law firm for a few years, during which she volunteered for various arts organizations through Volunteer Lawyers in the Arts for D.C. She maintained this relationship in her next job at the University General Counsel office for the University of Maryland, where she oversaw a energy infrastructure project. When an Executive Director position at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in D.C (VLADC) opened up, she took that job for two years before moving to a position in the organization’s New York base where she worked for twelve years. As a self-described ultimate liberal arts student with a background in economics, Paul enjoyed the business aspect of VLADC. Paul is now ten years into her position at Alvin Ailey Modern Dance Company.
When discussing the importance of Alvin Ailey’s work as a Civil Rights activist, Paul noted that “art is all about freedom of expression” where one holds up a mirror to injustices and the state of society. For Paul, meaningful art and working within this mission and framework of doing one’s part to make the world a better place is vital to any work that she does. In addition to her day job, she participates in Davidson’s Art Collection Advisory Committee (ACAC), speaking very highly of her co-board members and the College’s commitment to positive change and bettering itself and the community. Paul also has strong relationships with the Classical Theater of Harlem and various writers and photographers whom she represents, stating the joy she gets from representing these entities well and the excitement of supporting artists doing great work in their communities.
Paul discusses her appreciation for the mission of the Alvin Ailey dance company
“It’s the lawyer’s job to say no,” Paul says, laughing, when asked about the relationships she has experienced with artists as a lawyer. Elaborating further, she discusses her focus on risk management and her commitment to protecting the physical bodies of the artists, as well as their vision and art. Paul enjoys working with the artists in developing their vision while demystifying legal issues and synthesizing options for the clients. She aims to protect the artists, protect her company’s brand, and make sure that all parties are safe within and getting what they want out of any given contract.
With her vast experience in the legal art field, Paul talks about the differences between notions of copyright and contracts in any art field whether film, dance, music, among others. Paul begins her response to the changes COVID has wrought on the art world by noting how “everyone has become a film company.” Because of the overnight breakdown of all in-person programming during the pandemic, organizations like Alvin Ailey had to quickly pirouette into producing online content to stay afloat. Of course, all expertise and legal rights totally change when switching from stage to screen. She notes that everything from music rights to camera skills changes when making content for the screen. Operating on such thin margins, many art businesses have and will go under due to the pressures of a COVID world. Paul is unsure of when her company will be able to resume touring, but noted that their modern dance school had been, like Davidson, able to reopen in limited stages. As a professor at a film school (another of her many professional roles), Paul also notes how she had to change the way she operates to fit an online world, and how she misses being in the room with her colleagues and students.
Paul reflects gratefully on Alvin Ailey’s ability to maneuver throughout the pandemic; and how art communities in general, including philanthropic entities, have been supportive of one another in these trying times. “It’s really about being flexible and … safety first and then trying to figure out how to stand out in all the online stuff.” And of course, for Paul, continuing to facilitate the creation of art.
Cole Thornton ’21