A project of the Handicrafts and Handloom Department of the state of Odisha, the 12.68 acres of Kalabhoomi at Pokhariaput, Bhubaneswar has been designed as a “one of a kind Crafts Hub'' to showcase the incredible variety of handicrafts and handloom practised in the state. Inaugurated by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 22 March 2018, the museum aims to make the visitors appreciate the art and crafts on display as well as to bring the craftspeople and consumers closer through facilitating interactions between them. Odia landscape and architecture were major inspirations for the landscape design of the museum. While the use of Laterite- a locally available stone, as building material is noticeable, a big draw for visitors are the courtyards designed to display tribal lifestyle and temple architectures. The outdoor displays in the courtyards, the stepped rainwater reservoir and replica of Kuldevi temple are a unique feature of the museum.

One comes across handicrafts ranging from terracotta, stone and wood carving, dokra, bell metal, tarakasi (silver filigree), indigenous carvings, traditional paintings like patachitra, palm leaf etchings to pre-weaving techniques, materials, natural dyes, tools, different kind of handlooms and applique. There are ten galleries in the museum, of which eight have handicrafts and handloom collections on permanent display. The handicraft galleries are devoted to Terracotta, Traditional Paintings, Stone and Wood carving, Metal crafts, Natural crafts and Tribal crafts. The handloom galleries segmented into Pre-weaving techniques and Sericulture & Handlooms display raw materials, tools as well as 114 sarees from different districts like Sambalpuri Ikkat, Tussar silk from Cuttack, Bomkai from Ganjam and Kotpad sarees. Several handloom and handicraft items on display are more than 100 years old. A dance costume gallery is under construction.

The museum offers specially curated museum walks which include pottery demonstrations and cultural performances. The museum frequently organises craft workshops on palm-leaf etching, applique, events like craft bazaar, craft quizzes, interactions with crafts persons, fashion shows displaying Odia textile and sarees, folk and classical dance performances as well as indigenous theatre.