Art storage in Dubai: who publishes what

Climate figures, prices and services for 14 providers, set against what conservators ask for.

Read the climate chart See all 14 labels

The Harvesters, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder — Pieter Bruegel the Elder
*The Harvesters*, 1565
Oil on oak
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Open Access, public domain (CC0). Reproduced for its material, not held in any store named here.

Which store fits depends on where the work is going next

Staying in Dubai, and you want a price today

Start with Vachi Storage. Of the 14 providers here, it is the only one whose art page states a price, a temperature band and a humidity ceiling together, and you can reserve a room online without asking for a quote. Rooms are at Al Quoz 3: 35 sq ft AED 865, 50 sq ft AED 1,150, 75 sq ft AED 1,650 a month, VAT included, 20 to 25°C, humidity under 55%, with free pickup into storage anywhere in Dubai.

Its limits, read in the same breath. 20 to 25°C is wider than the tightest targets. Humidity has a ceiling but no stated floor, which matters most for panel. Art handling is extra, and it publishes no crating, shipping or customs service. If a work needs a condition report or a loan paper trail, go right.

Going abroad, on loan, or held under bond

Equinox in Jebel Ali Freezone is the one specialist with current published figures, 20 to 24°C and 40 to 60% RH, plus FM200 fire protection and 2-hour rated rooms. Brink's sits in the Dubai Airport Free Zone. Crown and DIETL state customs teams and viewing rooms. All of them quote privately.

Crates, hanging, one move

You may not need a store at all. Dubai Art Depot and dnata logistics handle and move work, and neither of those two has an art store to offer. Read the label first.

Pick a medium and read it against the rooms

Only four of the 14 publish a temperature and humidity figure. Those four are on this chart, next to the bands conservators publish for each material.

What are you storing?

Oil on canvas

Panel

Works on paper

Photographs

Metal

Textile

The shaded column carries the selected medium's target down across the provider rows. A faded bar has no stated lower limit. Mould timings from CCI. Provider bands are what each one publishes, not measurements.

Wheat Field with Cypresses, by Vincent van Gogh — Vincent van Gogh
*Wheat Field with Cypresses*, 1889
Oil on canvas
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Open Access, public domain (CC0). Reproduced for its material, not held in any store named here.

Oil on canvas wants 40 to 60% RH and holds best near 50%.

The Canadian Conservation Institute gives 40 to 60% as the safest stable range, with 50% as the consensus centre (CCI Notes 10/4). The Bizot guidelines add 16 to 25°C (ICOM-CC and IIC). Above 75%, some canvases shrink while the stretcher expands. Mould tends to start on the back of the canvas near the stretcher bars (CCI).

Oil on canvas: published bands against the target
Provider	Humidity	Temperature
Equinox	inside	inside
Brink's	inside	inside
Green Sky	partly outside	inside
Vachi	ceiling inside, no floor stated	inside

Panel shares the numbers with canvas and reacts harder when air turns dry.

CCI groups canvas and wood under the same 40 to 60% band. In dry air the unpainted back of a panel gives up moisture first, the wood warps, and paint can lift in ridges or tents (CCI Notes 10/4). A panel is the work to ask about most if a room publishes no humidity floor.

Panel: published bands against the target
Provider	Humidity	Temperature
Equinox	inside	inside
Brink's	inside	inside
Green Sky	partly outside	inside
Vachi	ceiling inside, no floor stated	inside

Under the Wave off Kanagawa, by Katsushika Hokusai — Katsushika Hokusai
*Under the Wave off Kanagawa*, ca. 1830-32
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Open Access, public domain (CC0). Reproduced for its material, not held in any store named here.

Paper tolerates a wider band and should stay clear of the mould line.

NEDCC lists 68°F ± 4 and 30 to 60% RH for combined use areas (NEDCC). CCI says to keep RH below 65% and avoid long periods above 75% (CCI). Very low humidity stiffens paper too, so drier is not automatically safer.

Works on paper: published bands against the target
Provider	Humidity	Temperature
Equinox	inside	partly outside
Brink's	inside	inside
Green Sky	inside	partly outside
Vachi	ceiling inside, no floor stated	partly outside

Julia Jackson, by Julia Margaret Cameron — Julia Margaret Cameron
*Julia Jackson*, 1867
Albumen print from wet collodion negative
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access, CC0. Reproduced for its material, not held in any store named here.

Photographs ask for drier and cooler air than any room here publishes in full.

The Library of Congress recommends 30 to 50% RH at 70°F or below, with daily swings ideally under 5% (Library of Congress). Colour photographs and film negatives are a separate case: it recommends 40°F or below, and none of the four published bands is a cold store. Below 20 to 30% RH, gelatin can turn brittle and crack (CCI).

Photographs: published bands against the target
Provider	Humidity	Temperature
Equinox	partly outside	partly outside
Brink's	partly outside	partly outside
Green Sky	inside	partly outside
Vachi	ceiling above target, no floor stated	partly outside

The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin — Auguste Rodin
*The Thinker*, 1880-81
Bronze
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access, CC0. Reproduced for its material, not held in any store named here.

Metal wants the narrowest humidity band on this chart.

CCI says most museum metals are stable at 45 to 50% RH, and that above 65% all metal corrosion speeds up (CCI). Every published band here is wider than 45 to 50%, so ask what the readings look like in the room you would rent, and what the provider suggests for sensitive metals.

Metal: published bands against the target
Provider	Humidity	Temperature
Equinox	partly outside	no medium figure
Brink's	partly outside	no medium figure
Green Sky	partly outside	no medium figure
Vachi	ceiling above target, no floor stated	no medium figure

*Textile with field of poppies on a golden ground*, 1600-1750
Silk and gilt-metal thread: twill weave with supplementary weft, stamped
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access, CC0. Reproduced for its material, not held in any store named here.

Textiles forgive a wide range and fear the extremes.

CCI gives no single band: textiles tolerate a wide range and only extremes threaten them. Between 40% and 5% RH they become increasingly brittle (CCI), and the general mould line sits at 65%. The 40 to 65% bar on the chart is this guide's reading of those two limits, not a stated target.

Textile: published bands against the target
Provider	Humidity	Temperature
Equinox	inside	no medium figure
Brink's	inside	no medium figure
Green Sky	partly outside	no medium figure
Vachi	ceiling inside, no floor stated	no medium figure

The numbers behind the chart

Conservation targets
Medium	RH	Temperature
Oil on canvas	40-60%	16-25°C
Panel	40-60%	16-25°C
Works on paper	30-60%	68°F ± 4
Photographs	30-50%	70°F or below
Metal	45-50%	no medium figure
Textile	40-65%	no medium figure

Published by providers, checked November 2026
Provider	RH	Temperature	Where it says so
Equinox	40-60%	20-24°C	current home page
Brink's	45-55%	64-71°F	blog marked “Modified 6 Years ago”
Green Sky	30-50%	18-24°C	blog; home page says most rooms are not climate-controlled
Vachi	under 55%	20-25°C	current art page

Where should a valuable collection go?

Choose by paperwork and exposure, not by how expensive the brochure looks.

For works with loan requests, a resale plan or a value your insurer wants documented, a specialist or a free zone store fits better: condition reporting, crating and customs are what you are buying, and you will be quoted privately for them. Equinox and Brink's publish their security and climate detail. Dubai Fine Arts states condition reporting and chain of custody.

A collection that lives in Dubai, rotates through a home and needs no paper trail may be paying for services it never calls on. That is where an air-conditioned room with a published price is a fair answer, provided the humidity ceiling and the band suit the media you own. Ask your broker before you move anything: Chubb suggests checking whether your carrier has vetted the facility (Chubb).

Four labels from the wall

Vachi Storage

General storage with an art page, Al Quoz 3 for art rooms

Climate: 20 to 25°C, humidity under 55%
Price: 35 sq ft room AED 865, 50 sq ft AED 1,150, 75 sq ft AED 1,650 a month, VAT included
Room: Full height, 2.39 m, private access to your own room, open to customers 24/7
Security: 24/7 CCTV and access control
Insurance: Optional cover from AED 49 a month, not included
Services stated: Free pickup into storage anywhere in Dubai. Art handling on request at extra cost. Packing materials and return delivery (AED 450 to 700) are extra.

Two sites, both in Al Quoz, so one district. According to its own site: 4.8 on Google, 1,000+ customers, 5 years in Dubai.

Not published: humidity floor, fire suppression, crating, international shipping, customs help, condition reports.

vachistorage.com/art-storage, checked November 2026

Equinox

Free zone art store, Jebel Ali Freezone

Climate: “Climate 20 to 24° Centigrade 40 to 60 % Relative Humidity”
Fire: “Fire protection FM200 · 2-hour rated rooms”
Insurance: “It is the responsibility of the customer to arrange insurance for “All Risks” of physical loss or damage.”
Services stated: Crating, installation, local transport, international shipping, customs help

Quotes exclude insurance, which the customer arranges. Private rooms are offered subject to availability.

Not published: price.

equinoxfineart.com, checked November 2026

Crown Fine Art

Art logistics, Dubai Investment Park 2

Climate: “Our facility in Dubai offers a first-class temperature and humidity-controlled environment”
Services stated: Crating, installation, local transport, international shipping, customs help, viewing room

No figures for Dubai. The GRASP and ISO certifications on its pages attach to London, Hong Kong and Singapore. The page does not say whether Dubai storage is customs-bonded.

Not published: temperature figure, humidity figure, price, fire suppression, insurance.

crownfineart.com, checked November 2026

Green Sky

General storage, Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Climate: “Green Sky’s Dubai storage units are described as climate-controlled, with a stated range of 18-24°C and 30-50% humidity.”
Price: “Rooms in Dubai start from AED 150 a month and in Abu Dhabi from AED 155 a month, plus 5% VAT.”
Insurance: “Self storage terms typically limit the provider’s liability, so the owner should consider their own insurance for valuable pieces.”

Its pages disagree. The blog calls Dubai units climate-controlled; the home page FAQ says “Most rooms are not”. AED 150 is the general room rate, not an art rate.

Not published: fire suppression.

greensky.ae, checked November 2026

All 14 labels, grouped by type

Short answers

How much does art storage cost in Dubai?

Most specialists quote privately, so there is no market rate to print. Vachi publishes 35 sq ft AED 865, 50 sq ft AED 1,150, 75 sq ft AED 1,650 a month for art rooms, VAT included. Green Sky publishes rooms from AED 150 a month plus 5% VAT, but that is its general room rate, and its home page says most rooms are not climate-controlled.

What humidity should art be stored at?

Paintings on canvas or wood are safest at a stable 40 to 60% RH. Mould risk rises above 65%. Other media differ: the humidity page goes through them one at a time.

Is a free zone store better than the mainland?

It solves a customs question, not a climate one. Foreign goods can enter a free zone and leave the country without duty. If they come into the country instead, they count as foreign goods. The customs page has the sources.

Can I see my work while it is in storage?

Crown, DIETL, Bovis, JKK and Brink's state a viewing room. At Vachi you have private access to your own room, and customers can enter 24/7.