Aurora Art Racks and Museum Storage Systems
Aurora Art Rack screens, Art-Stor perforated panels and Aurora museum cabinets, free-standing or mounted on Aurora mobile carriages, planned, supplied and installed by Material Handling USA.
Aurora Art Rack
Welded frames with heavy-duty mesh screens, sized to your collection
Art-Stor
Perforated steel panels that hold framed art flat, wall-mounted or on carriages
Museum cabinets
Herbarium, entomology, collections and drying cabinets plus flat files
Mobile option
All of it can ride on Aurora mobile carriages to recover aisle space
Shop Aurora Quik-Lok Shelving Components
Aurora Quik-Lok shelves for the boxed objects, records and reference material that sit alongside an art or museum collection. Aurora Art Racks, Art-Stor panels and museum cabinets are custom systems that we lay out and quote for your room.
Where Aurora art and museum storage is used
Aurora builds its art and museum line for organizations that have to keep valuable, irregular objects safe while still being able to find and pull a single piece quickly. Aurora lists these as typical applications for Art-Stor, and the same rooms usually need Art Racks and collections cabinets too:
For a brand-neutral overview of every rack type, see our guide to art storage racks. For mixed museum collections across several manufacturers, see museum and archival collections mobile shelving.
Aurora Art Rack: welded frames and mesh screens
The Aurora Art Rack is a custom system for storing paintings in reserve collections, research areas or any room where space is tight. Each screen is a solid, smooth-welded steel frame enclosing heavy-duty mesh, and the screens are sized to the dimensions you specify rather than picked from a fixed catalog size.
From Aurora’s Art Rack sell sheet, the main features are:
- Modular construction and easy on-site assembly
- Free-standing, ceiling-mounted and hybrid support options
- Sway prevention, so screens stay steady when moved
- Adjustable screen spacing and custom heights and widths
- “Soft Stop” bumpers to protect fragile pieces
- Ball-bearing movement for low vibration and quiet, easy pulls
Download the Aurora Art Rack sell sheet (PDF).
Aurora art racks on mobile carriages
Aurora also mounts Art Rack screens to its mobile carriages. Instead of leaving a pull-out aisle in front of every rack, the carriages roll along floor rails so the whole bank shares one moving aisle. Aurora states this can increase storage by 50% or more while saving floor space, and the vertical panels mount securely to the carriages for smooth, gentle tracking.
The photos here are Aurora installations: mesh screens on carriages with handwheels, and a bank where art screens and collection shelving share the same rail system. That mixed layout is common in museums, because paintings, boxed objects and flat files can all live in one compact room.
See the full Aurora mobile shelving line for carriage, drive and end panel choices.
What changes when paintings go mobile
Paintings ask more of a mobile system than records do, so a few details deserve attention in the layout:
- Smooth movement. Mechanical-assist handwheels start and stop carriages gently; for long or heavy banks, compare drive options in our manual vs mechanical-assist vs powered guide.
- Screen spacing. Space screens for the deepest frames hung on facing sides, plus a margin.
- Floor and rails. Carriages concentrate weight on the rails; see floor load requirements.
- Security. High-value rooms often add carriage locks; see security and access control.
Aurora Art-Stor perforated art panels
Art-Stor is Aurora’s alternative to mesh. Its modular panels are perforated steel, and special hangers secure framed artwork or work in process. It comes two ways: single-sided panels mounted to a wall, or dual-sided panels mounted to mobile carriages, which Aurora says stores double the artwork.
Aurora’s reason for the perforated panel is a problem it calls “oil canning”: in mesh systems the flexible mesh can distort and sag under the weight of hanging art, so the work is no longer held close to the panel. The rigid perforated panel gives a stable mounting surface instead.
Art-Stor is finished in Aurora’s Gloss-Tek powder coat, which Aurora describes as having no volatile organic compounds or off-gassing, in 32 colors (see Aurora colors and finishes). Combined with mobile shelving, it can also hold sculpture and objects alongside framed paintings and prints.
Wall-mounted Aurora art screens
Not every collection needs a moving system. Galleries, corporate offices and smaller museums often start with Art Rack mesh screens or single-sided Art-Stor panels fixed along a wall. They use wall length rather than floor area, need no rails, and can be extended later or moved onto carriages if the collection grows.
Wall systems work best for framed works that rotate on and off display. Plan the layout around door swings, sprinkler heads and HVAC registers, keep the wall away from exterior walls and plumbing where possible, and leave room in front for a cart and two people handling a large frame.
Flat works on paper belong in drawers instead; Aurora flat files are covered on our Aurora flat files and art storage page.
Aurora museum cabinets for collections
Aurora’s museum line covers the objects that do not hang. Its cabinets are designed to stand on their own or ride on Aurora mobile carriages as part of a larger system. Details below are from Aurora’s Museum Storage Solutions brochure.
- Entomology cabinets accept typical entomology drawers, including Cornell, Smithsonian, California and USNM sizes.
- Herbarium cabinets use an insert with no catch points for folder storage, with no pop rivets or welds in the storage compartment and a full-width pull-out work shelf on 84" units.
- Collections cabinets come full height (84") or counter height, with solid or visual doors on full-height models, and shelves, drawers and dividers adjustable on 3/4" centers.
- Drying cabinets are vented to desiccate botanical material, with adjustable fan and heater functions.
Aurora lists these cabinet features: a silicone door gasket compressed at multiple points by the handle, heavy-duty lift-off hinges, a water shield top in case of overhead sprinkler discharge, a reinforced base that accepts forklifts on double-door models, and a powder-coat finish Aurora states has zero off-gassing.
Aurora flat files are heavy-duty welded units with ball-bearing slides and smooth drawer interiors. Each unit has five 2" drawers rated at 100 lb each, and units stack three high or mount to mobile carriages. Accessories include textile shelves with coat rods, rolled textile drawers and vertical art dividers.
For cabinets from every manufacturer we carry, see museum storage cabinets.
Whole collections on Aurora mobile systems
Most museum storerooms end up as a mix: art screens for paintings, cabinets for specimens and textiles, flat files for works on paper, and open shelving for boxed objects. Aurora’s mobile carriages carry all of these on one rail system, so a single compact room can hold the whole collection with one moving aisle.
Aurora offers museum layout design support to assess existing floor space and recommend the right product mix. We work alongside that: measuring the room, confirming the floor, laying out ranges and coordinating delivery and installation. Public institutions can also review Aurora’s GSA contract information.
Which Aurora system fits your collection
| Need | Aurora option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Framed paintings, mid-size collection | Aurora Art Rack, free-standing or ceiling-mounted | Custom-sized mesh screens with soft-stop bumpers and ball-bearing movement |
| Framed paintings, limited floor area | Art Rack or Art-Stor on mobile carriages | One shared aisle; Aurora states 50%+ more storage |
| Heavy frames or sag concerns | Art-Stor perforated panels | Rigid panel avoids the mesh sag Aurora calls oil canning |
| Small gallery or office collection | Wall-mounted Art Rack or single-sided Art-Stor | No rails, uses wall length, can grow later |
| Insects, botanical sheets, specimens | Aurora entomology and herbarium cabinets | Accepts standard museum drawers; no catch points |
| Prints, drawings, textiles | Aurora flat files and textile accessories | Five 2″ drawers per unit, stack or mount to carriages |
For the rest of the Aurora range, start at Aurora shelving or the Aurora literature library.
Planning, supply and installation with MH-USA
An art or museum storeroom is easiest to plan before the room is finished. We usually work through:
- Inventory. Sizes of the largest framed works, frame depths, and counts of drawers, sheets and boxes.
- Room survey. Dimensions, ceiling height and structure, doors, sprinklers, HVAC and whether the slab can take rails.
- System mix. Which works hang, which go in cabinets or flat files, and which ranges move or lock.
- Layout and submittal. Drawings and Aurora product data for your team, conservator and engineer to review.
- Install and move plan. Where works live during installation and how they come back.
Useful references: seismic anchoring requirements, sprinkler, lighting and HVAC coordination and cost and budget drivers. We design to the criteria your conservator, engineer and fire marshal provide.
Related pages
Compare every rack type in our art storage racks guide, plan mixed collections with museum and archival collections mobile shelving, and browse museum storage cabinets. Within Aurora: Aurora mobile shelving, Aurora flat files and art storage and the Aurora literature library. All high-density options are on our mobile shelving hub.
Get a free quote
Tell us what you are storing, the room size and your timeline. A project specialist will follow up with layout options and pricing. Prefer to talk? Call (800) 326-4403.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Aurora Art Rack?
What is the difference between Aurora Art Rack and Art-Stor?
Can Aurora art racks go on mobile shelving carriages?
Does Aurora make museum cabinets?
What finish does Aurora use on art storage?
How do I get a quote for an Aurora art or museum system?
Planning an Aurora art or museum storeroom?
Share your room size, ceiling height and a list of the paintings, specimens and objects you need to store. We will lay out Aurora Art Racks, Art-Stor panels, cabinets and mobile carriages for your space and quote supply and installation. Call (800) 326-4403 to start.