After decades of delivering art exhibitions by train, Artrain USA is looking forward to taking the show on the road—literally. The non-profit organization, which brings art exhibits to “under-resourced” communities with limited or no access to cultural institutions like museums, has commissioned the construction of mobile museum units (MMUs) that can be trucked across the country.

These MMUs are expandable semitrailers that meet museum standards for housing original art and artifacts. They will travel to communities by road rather than rail. Depending on the nature of the exhibit, one or more of these 1,000-square-foot MMUs can become a “mobile museum.”

View a video showing how the MMUs work.

Artrain decided to retire its signature train and move toward using MMUs when the economy crashed. “We knew we needed to take a really hard look at our mission, what we do, how we do it, and how we raise funds for it,” says Artrain President Debra Polich.

There are a number of benefits to switching from a train to MMUs, according to Polich. Namely, “the mobiles will allow us to reach communities where railroads don’t go,” she says.

“What we figured out is that, in the long term, we don’t need to purchase the MMUs outright. There are leasing options. It will be done on a project-by-project basis,” she explains.

The use of train cars ended with the conclusion of Native Views: Influences of Modern Culture, an exhibition of contemporary Native American art that toured the country from 2004 to 2007. The train was sold to Disney, which used it to promote Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey in 2009.

“We don’t have the train any more, but it’s not like we’ve just been sitting here trying to figure out what to do,” Polich says. Since retiring the train cars, Artrain has developed touring exhibitions in partnership with other organizations. Although they no longer travel by train (going to more traditional types of exhibition venues instead), the non-profit arts organization’s mission to reach “under-resourced” communities remains the same.

"Infinite Mirror: Images of American Identity" is currently traveling to universities and museums through 2015 through a partnership with International Art and Artists. And Artrain is preparing for the launch of "Paths to Peace: a War of 1812 Arts Legacy Project" in partnership with the National Park Service Perry Memorial & International Peace Center.

“These are not traveling on a mobile, but they fulfill our mission to serve through community connections, and they will reach multiple communities,” Polich says.

Artrain will be back on track, or on the road rather, next year. They plan to roll out their first touring exhibit using MMUs in 2012, which will be an interactive educational exhibit about alternative energy in collaboration with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and the Clean Energy Coalition.

Polich says the alternative energy project is a perfect example of how Artrain is “not only expanding our delivery methods. We’re also expanded our subject matter," she explains.

“In the way art isn’t accessible to many smaller communities, other things aren’t accessible. They don’t have history museums. They don’t have places like the Hands-On Museum or basic cultural exhibitions that people in larger towns get a chance to do. We thought, we’ve been successful with art, so it made sense to extend that to other cultural and educational offerings,” Polich adds.