Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing

Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing is located near Panna Meena ka Kund in Jaipur. It is a popular museum in Jaipur city. The creation of the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing was the initiative of Founder & Director, Rachel Bracken Singh and her husband Pritam Singh. Pritam's father, John Singh, purchased the dilapidated Chanwar Palkiwalon Mansion in the late 1970s and began a 3 year renovation project in 1989. The preservation project earned a UNESCO award for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2000.

Anokhi Museum is a charitable foundation that works with an objective of preserving the traditional customs and works of artisans living in Jaipur. It is a small museum made out of pink sandstone. This foundation provides employment opportunities to several artisans by nurturing their talent and skills. The three storied museum has on permanent display over a hundred garments and blocks, showcasing intricate block designs on ethnic and western clothing. One of the biggest attractions in the museum is the on-site demonstration of block printing, which holds a high fascination factor for adults and children alike.

Other than the exhibits, the Museum organizes various educational programs and workshops to focus on various aspects of this ancient craft. There are various demonstrations related to block carving and print making for the visitors on a daily basis. The museum also organises film programs in its small auditorium, where documentaries about the rare art of block printing are showcased.
There is a cafe and a shop inside the museum that sell handmade products like jewellery, cards, books, furnishings and clothes. The Museum is closed to the public every summer from May 1 to July 15 for an exhibition changeover and maintenance of the galleries.

The permanent cllection displays a range of natural and chemical processes including dabu mud-resist printing, and gold and silver embellishment. A display of wooden and brass blocks with carving tools highlights an aspect of the craft that is often neglected when discussing the beauty of printed cloth. The galleries are divided into heads namely:

Introduction
Haveli Restoration
Regional Textiles
Natural and Chemical Dyes
Block Printing & Carving tools
Gold & Silver Printing
Demonstration Area

The visitors have an opportunity to interact with the artisans and try their hand at the craft in the block printing and block carving demonstration area. The museum conducts workshops for school children, colleges and provides either a general tour or a special exhibition tour. The museum supports an ongoing research program to study block printing, particularly in select regions of northern India, which has resulted in an ongoing series of publications with related museum exhibitions.