As you move through the exhibition, the question arises: are we all – or should we all be – preppers?

In recent years, questions of crisis and home preparedness have become increasingly central to public debate. At the same time, the associated prepper culture has shifted from something peripheral and somewhat secretive to a global phenomenon encompassing a variety of subcultures. In today’s troubled world, many have contemplated prepping at least once.

The exhibition “We Will Survive: The Prepper Movement and Design” investigates preppers’ notions and preparations for the supposed end of the world. In three sections, the exhibition examines Existential Threats and Risk Assessment, Governmental Prepping and Individual Prepping. Through more than 200 design objects, architectural sketches, iconic magazines, and historical video material, including post-apocalyptic scenes from films and video games, the exhibition illustrates how design can function as a survival strategy.

Existential threats, civil contingency planning, and individual prepping

In the section devoted to existential threats and risk assessment, visitors encounter, among other objects, “the Doomsday Clock” from 1947. Based on research from a range of scientific fields, the clock indicates how close humanity is to a global catastrophe. This year, it shows that we are only 89 seconds from the end.

On the theme of governmental prepping, there are examples of how the United States, Naples, Tokyo, Helsinki, and Sweden prepare for crises or disasters on both the national and municipal levels. Among other things, it shows how the brochure ‘If war or crisis comes’ from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency has changed over the years.

The exhibition’s third section focuses on individual prepping and life-saving design. Here, the exhibition takes the form of a supermarket, “The Prepper Supermarket”, where visitors can browse products and solutions addressing fundamental needs such as water, food, warmth, and shelter.

“We Will Survive: The Prepper Movement and Design” is a touring exhibition from mudac – Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts in Lausanne.

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