The A.I. Kuprin Museum — the only museum of the writer in the country — is located in the writer's homeland, in the village of Narovchat in the Penza Region. It was opened on September 6, 1981, on the eve of the 111th anniversary of Kuprin's birth, with the participation of the writer's daughter, Ksenia Aleksandrovna Kuprina. The literary and domestic exhibition "Life and Work of A.I. Kuprin" is housed in the former house of merchant V.I. Shlykov, rebuilt on the foundation of a house that burned down in 1891 and had belonged to the writer's parents.
Ksenia Kuprina at the opening of the museum
The museum's design project was developed by the Penza Art Fund. P.A. Frolov (literary scholar, developer of the thematic-exhibition plan, author of the book "A.I. Kuprin and the Penza Region", at the time of the opening a staff member of GBUK "OGLMM of the Penza Region") and N.A. Kugel (at the time of the opening a staff member of GBUK "OGLMM of the Penza Region", art historian) were the driving forces behind the museum's literary and domestic exhibition. Natalya Arkadyevna Kugel oversaw the installation of the exhibition, often met with the writer's daughter in Moscow, and negotiated with her on the transfer of memorial items to the museum.
Ksenia Kuprina transferred to the OGLMM the Kuprins' archive from the emigration period, household items, and books from the Kuprins' library in France. After Ksenia Aleksandrovna's death, her correspondence with her parents was handed over to the museum. Based on the collected materials, a domestic interior was recreated in one room of the house, and a literary exhibition was created in four other rooms.
In 2012, after major renovations at the museum, the A.I. Kuprin Museum's exhibition was updated. Currently the literary and domestic exhibition is displayed in five halls of the museum and acquaints visitors with the stages of A.I. Kuprin's life and work.
A.I. Kuprin Museum Exhibition
Each year the museum is visited by tens of thousands of people — admirers of A.I. Kuprin's talent. Alongside literary tours of the exhibitions "And Penza Blood Runs in Me" and "My Entire Biography Is in My Works", the museum offers an aroma tour "Aromas from the Past", the immersive tour "Hear the Time", the immersive theatrical tour "Passing by the Kuprins", theatrical tours "Visiting Mother L.A. Kuprina" and "Female Silhouettes in the Writer's Fate", a literary-search quest "In Search of Kuprin's Will", a literary quiz "Tsarev, a Guest from Narovchat", and interactive games based on the exhibition and the writer's works.
Immersive tour "Hear the Time"
In summer the schedule of events is supplemented with programs held on the grounds of the Kuprin Garden. The garden features a summer gazebo that allows visitors to fully appreciate the rustic charm and helps immerse them in the Kuprin era.
Gazebo in the Kuprin Garden
