The Museum of Folk Art is a branch of the State Budgetary Institution of Culture Center for Folk Culture and has been operating since December 1, 1991. It is located in the historical center of the city, in the old mansion of A.S. Pribylovskaya, and is part of the Lenin Memorial complex. Previously, its premises housed an exhibition of gifts to V.I. Lenin.

The director of the museum is Margarita Konstantinovna Smirnova.

The goal of the museum is to create conditions for social demand and the development of individual initiative in the field of artistic experiments by non-professionals in the plastic and visual arts.

The museum is engaged in the study, support, and development of folk artistic creativity in its various forms. It collects and analyzes items and works created within the framework of amateur, recreational, or craft activities, and organizes exhibitions for the general public.

The museum also supports artisans by providing consultations, organizing presentations of their works, and promoting their products.

The main areas of the museum's work include:

- exhibition activities;
- excursion and methodological work;
- work with collections;
- exhibitions and sales.

Since 2014, the museum has served as an experimental platform "ISTOKiYA," which helps the younger generation connect with spiritual traditions, folk culture, and art, supporting the "Sociocultural Roots" program.

Particular attention is paid to working with socially vulnerable groups: children, teenagers, students, pensioners, and people with disabilities.

The museum hosts lectures, excursions, including the "self-guided" format, interactive programs, art meetings, master classes in decorative and applied arts, creative laboratories for experience exchange, quests, art cocktails, and other events.