diff --git a/swh/storage/__init__.py b/swh/storage/__init__.py
index 4b870c3f..3582630c 100644
--- a/swh/storage/__init__.py
+++ b/swh/storage/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,27 @@
 from . import storage
 
 Storage = storage.Storage
+
+
+def get_storage(storage_class, storage_args):
+    """
+    Get a storage object of class `storage_class` with arguments
+    `storage_args`.
+
+    Args:
+        storage_class: one of 'remote_storage', 'local_storage'
+        storage_args: the arguments to pass to the storage class
+    Returns:
+        an instance of swh.storage.Storage (either local or remote)
+    Raises:
+        ValueError if passed an unknown storage_class.
+    """
+
+    if storage_class == 'remote_storage':
+        from .storage.api.client import RemoteStorage as Storage
+    elif storage_class == 'local_storage':
+        from .storage import Storage
+    else:
+        raise ValueError('Unknown storage class `%s`' % storage_class)
+
+    return Storage(*storage_args)