Introduction

As needed, as possible is a digital and print publication that emerges from thinking, talking and making around art, labour and life in contemporary Aotearoa. Initially prompted by a series of questions we asked ourselves around the role Enjoy—and the contemporary art space more generally—plays within a broader arts ecology and society, this publication looks outward, building upon conversations with friends and colleagues around how to make a life, and a living, in and around art.

Published by Enjoy in collaboration with GLORIA Books, As needed, as possible considers the social, economic and political frameworks practitioners and organisations occupy in contemporary Aotearoa. It aims to make a modest contribution to a wider field of discussion thinking through the kind of spaces and culture we wish to be working in, and how we might arrive there.

As we write, the entire field of play is undergoing a series of radical changes, the long-term effects of which cannot be comprehended from this juncture. Some of the contributions to this volume were written prior to the events surrounding Covid-19, and many do not directly reference the situation we now find ourselves in. If anything, they now remind us that the exigencies faced by contemporary practitioners—questions of how to fit art around raising a family, how to play with risks and possibilities, how to grapple with history and the present—have not disappeared in the face of crisis, and continued dialogue is more important than ever.

As needed, as possible will unfold over the following weeks and months, as PDF downloads of individual contributions are released periodically. It is our hope that the publication helps maintain our grip on art and its possibilities in unpredictable circumstances, and offers opportunities for conversation, thought, pleasure and solidarity.

— Sophie Davis and Simon Gennard, Editors

A NOTE ON THE DESIGN

When designing a book, PDFs will be exchanged between editor, designer, proofreader, printer as the publication evolves from concept to print. This collection of files can be an interesting insight into the designer’s process, an archive of thinking that is rarely seen. In this project, we see the PDF as a space for experimentation. Releasing the contributions periodically as PDFs generates the opportunity for catalogued design research. As we work towards publishing the book later in the year, each file acts as a possible point of departure for the impending publication.

A PDF can be a “working file,” but it’s also something to be saved. As we discussed this project, we noted our own folders of PDFs filed away for future reference, able to be accessed offline or ripe for printing—anytime, anywhere, on the home printer, in multiples, shared amongst colleagues, students, friends, and then thrown away until it is remade to be referenced again. As an antithesis to the current acme of online content, we suggest that this is how you could use these PDFs. If you can, enjoy them offline. Fire up the home printer, use the last of your black ink, spill your cup of tea on the paper.

— Katie Kerr, Designer