We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Drawdy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stephanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission prizes the motley mixture of art, law and the mind-boggling notion of justice. I began as an artist and then was drawn to the law. For years these two areas of my life were compartmentalized. When I finally intermingled the fields of art and law, I began to forge a path that enables me to explore and work through what’s on my heart and mind – from personal to social to legal issues. This mission has morphed into a couture career that includes painting, podcasting, writing and educating. Through the rigor, risk and reward of this multi-faceted mission, I sustain and nurture myself and I am better able to contribute to those in my sphere.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I work at the intersection of seemingly opposing fields. My practice focuses on art, law and how the two compliment – or war against – one another. That manifests through paintings, a podcast, seminars, journal articles, historical fiction and a range of legal work. With each, I analyze myself and the world around me through a creative/legal lens.

With my paintings, I offer a view into visible and veiled worlds through oil, watercolor and digital. Whether for commissions or independent work, I am often called to address inequities that pervade life experience. This has required an evolving catalog of imagery. What that looks like at the moment varies from portraits of marginalized members of society to mythological half-human figures, from still life with ripe and shriveled fruit to seascapes reflecting celestial bodies.

Through my podcast, Warfare of Art and Law, I host discussions with participation from a broad array of professionals, including provenance researchers, poets, scientists, art theft investigators, museum curators, authors, art law attorneys, and fellow artist/attorneys. The conversations are geared towards anyone interested in the arts. We cover artists rights, mass incarceration, art crime, art restitution, cultural heritage (here and in space!), the politics of memory, generative AI and IP, the healing power of art and much more. As a group we often turn to the ‘big’ question of how to define justice as well as the many forms of justice from historical to social.

As an extension of the podcast, I also host ‘2ND Saturday Art & Justice Gatherings’ with a live audience of artists and art aficionados. We discuss all things art and hold periodic peer-to-peer critiques of completed artwork and works-in-progress. Together, the podcast and 2ND Saturday Gatherings solicit discourse on nuanced issues and often underappreciated topics. A few examples are the investigation of the power of art to heal the artist making the work and/or the viewer who interacts with it; and the struggles faced by creatives who simultaneously pursue the arts and other professions such as the law or priesthood, and how those creatives can inspire current and future generations to combine their callings instead of choosing between them.

I also write and speak on many of the topics examined on the podcast. The impact of generative AI on the art world is one of them. My recent focus has been on evolving AI/copyright policy, the precedent emerging in generative AI cases and ethical issues raised by AI.

In addition, I also write historical fiction for those interested in creatives whose lives and careers were impacted by injustice. Ongoing projects for this center on female creatives from the ‘Lost Generation’ who came of age in the early 20th Century. These women became creative professionals in spite of patriarchal bias and the chaos of two world wars, creating with undeniably forward-thinking styles during their abbreviated careers. But they are largely omitted from art historical cannons or are only scantly mentioned. My aim is to use what is known about them to construct stories of their resilience that could inspire current and future creatives.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My story is about creating doors of opportunity where none existed. When I first began in the art law world, I was repeatedly told that opportunities were few and far between and those that did exist were only for an elite group. That’s false. There is always a place at a table of your own making. These words from Scottish explorer W. H. Murray often come to mind when I think of my continued pursuit of art and law despite the discouraging advice I received: “The moment one definitely commits, then providence moves too.” That has been my experience as I continue to do the work of art and law and art law. Though it is still an upward climb in many ways, I have learned to follow my inner voice with a doggedness that enables me to walk a more fulfilling path than the one I originally sought.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The creation of Warfare of Art and Law podcast marked a time of ‘pivot’ for me. For years I contemplated various ways to facilitate dialogue in the arts/law arena. I finally acted on that goal during the pandemic when online conversation was welcomed en masse. The first episode focused on a topic I’d written about for a chapter contribution to the treatise, Museums and the Holocaust, 2nd Edition – the discovery of the ‘Gurlitt art trove’, a collection of work looted by Nazi art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt. I then began to interview guests with a similar passion for the topic of Nazi-era art looting and restitution as well as artists who also are pursuing careers in the law.

Word of mouth about the podcast spread and interest has grown into a community of like-minded individuals and an archive of diverse conversations that spark further dialogue. That single shift into podcasting continues to yield a wealth of rewards as I persist in exploring the interconnectedness of art, law and justice along with others who share my curiosity on this topic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/stephaniedrawdy
• Instagram: @drawdyatelier
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniedrawdy
• Other: https://warfareofartandlaw.com

Image Credits

not applicable.