Lalit Kala Akademi (National Academy of Art), New Delhi was inaugurated on 5th August 1954 by the then Minister for Education, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and was registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860, on 11th March 1957. In pursuance of the objectives set out in the Constitution, the organisation functions through its General Council, Executive Board and other Committees.

Lalit Kala Akademi, the youngest of the three Akademies founded by Govt. of India, establishes to direct its focus on activities in the field of Visual Arts. In his inaugural speech Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had stated “The Akademi must work to preserve the glorious traditions of the past and enrich them by the work of our modern artists”. Akademi has preserved and documented a permanent collection of the highest order that reflects the vitality, complexity and unfolding patterns of contemporary, modern, folk and tribal art in India. Lalit Kala Akademi New Delhi along with its Regional Centres situated at Chennai, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Garhi (New Delhi) and sub-centres at Shimla, Ahmedabad, Agartala, Patna presents exhibitions workshops, camps lectures, retrospectives shows and many other art activities of unparalleled significance.