The Velimir Khlebnikov House-Museum
The former home of a major figure of Russian Futurism, Velimir Khlebnikov (1885-1922), in Astrakhan, the city he made famous.
Similar studio museums...
- Drachmanns Hus, Denmark - the fomer home of poet and painter Holger Drachmann (1846-1908), in the artists' colony of Skagen.
- Merz Barn, United Kingdom - Kurt Schwitters' (1887-1948) final 'Merz' construction, an experimental project in Cumbria.
- House-Museum of Pavel V. Kuznetsov - the former home of the Russian pictorial Symbolist painter, Pavel Kuznetsov (1878-1968).
Feature List
- Guided Tours
- Workshops
Velimir Khlebnikov was a poet, philosopher and futurist whose practice included dubbing himself 'The King of Time' and 'The Chairman of the Earth'. Throughout his career he experimented relentlessly with the Russian language, inventing around 1000 neologisms and playing with the creative potential of the Cyrillic alphabet. From 1911-1919, he lived here, in his parents' flat, and it was during this period that he wrote works such as Khadji-Tarkhan, Esir, Ka and Astrakhan Giaconda (1918).
The Velimir Khlebnikov House-Museum is based around the Khlebnikov Collection assembled by Velimir's nephew, the artist and illustrator May Miturich-Khlebnikov (1925-2008), and donated by him to the state. The museum and its collection opened to the public in October 1993, as a branch of the P. M. Dogadin Art Gallery. Today, it displays objects and artworks including Velimir's willow pen, inkwell and necktie, his collection of books and lifetime editions of his works (The Trumpet of the Martians, Time-Digest the Fourth, Sight at 1923 and Velimir Khlebnikov Bulletin No. 1, which is signed by 'Velimir the First'). There is also a significant collection of work by Velimir's sister, Vera Khlebnikova (1891-1941), herself a Modernist painter.
As well as acting as a public museum, featuring a lively programme of exhibitions, projects and education events, the Velimir Khlebnikov house is also a research centre, its library including a significant collection of scholarship on the artist from around the world.
