[3][4] The Academy was first located in a community center before renting space in the historic American Bank Note Company Printing Plant in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx and was home to the Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre, a contemporary dance company focusing on works exploring the margins of Latino and LGBTQ cultures.

[6] Artists began presenting work in the space and hosting annual arts festivals such as BAAD!

In October 2013, the Academy relocated to a gothic revivalist chapel in the cemetery on the grounds of the historic St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Westchester Square.

[10] The chapel that houses the Academy was made a New York City Landmark in 1976 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

[11] In 2017 they were one of 12 grantees to receive a grant from the Lincoln Center Cultural Innovation Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation in order to [12] "increase arts access and participation in the diverse neighborhoods of the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn.