“What’s the difference between a collapse, a downfall, and a downright apocalypse? How will it all end, and why do we love to wonder? Ice or fire, zombies or bombs? Out with a bang or a whimper? And can we do anything to stop the decline?”

These questions were posed by the curators of In Case of Emergency, an exhibition at the Science Gallery Dublin, of art and design projects that explored the complexities of catastrophic risk. We exhibited an edited version of New Survivalism, a collection of mini-manifestos which uses designed objects and storytelling to explore the survival strategies of a disparate set of protagonists. The exhibition was supported by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Discover Programme, the NTR Foundation and the Health Research Board (HRB).