National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy
Photo: Own work — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy in New Delhi displays over 29,000 artifacts, including textiles, sculptures, and folk art, reflecting India’s diverse craft heritage.
Planning your visit
The National Crafts Museum in Delhi holds over 29,000 objects covering India's craft traditions — textiles, metalwork, wood and stone carving, terracotta, painting, basketry and tribal art from across the states.
The textiles are the strength, given India's position as the historical centre of world textile production: block-printed, resist-dyed, embroidered and woven pieces from Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir and the south, including techniques that took months per piece.
What distinguishes the museum is that craft is treated as living rather than historical. A village complex of reconstructed regional dwellings occupies the grounds, and craftspeople work on site in rotation, demonstrating and selling — which means what you see changes between visits.
The Hastkala Academy addition strengthens the training and documentation role.
It sits near Purana Qila in central Delhi.
Bookable options include walking tours of the museum. Current availability is listed below.
Before you book
Where is National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy?
National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy is in New Delhi, India.
Do I need to book National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy in advance?
Guided tours run to a fixed schedule and small group sizes, so they are usually booked ahead.
