The academy was established through an act of Parliament in 1974 as a statutory organization under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

The duties and responsibilities of the academy include promotion of the arts and national culture and creation of necessary facilities for their development.

The activities of the academy also include organizing workshops, seminars, discussion meetings, short-term specialized trainings, providing scholarships and financial grants for talented artists, organizing competitions in the various field of fine and performing arts.

[2][3] The branch in Chittagong, Bangladesh's second largest city and headquarters of the eponymous district, grew out of the private-sector art gallery Chattagram Kalabhaban.

The gallery was founded by artist and professor Rashid Choudhury in 1972, two years before the national academy came into being.