Located near the north coast of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, the main campus also functions as a venue for performances.

Bethanie, which is the site of the institution's Landmark Heritage Campus in Pok Fu Lam, has housed the School of Film and Television since 2007.

Its educational policy reflects the cultural diversity of Hong Kong with an emphasis on Chinese and Western traditions and interdisciplinary learning.

In early 1981, the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club informed Governor Murray MacLehose that it was willing to fund another project of a comparable scale to its recent major undertakings, which included the Ocean Park and the Jubilee Sports Centre.

[4] The academy would complement the performing arts spaces being opened across the territory by the Urban Council, and provide opportunities for creative youth just as the Jubilee Sports Centre was developed to serve young sportspeople.

[5] On 15 September 1981, the Jockey Club formally announced plans to build the academy on a piece of vacant land in Wan Chai, granted by the government, between HMS Tamar and the Hong Kong Arts Centre.

The Theatre Block was opened by the Duchess of Kent on 3 February 1986, the same day the inaugural opera season began as part of the 1986 Hong Kong Arts Festival.

During his tenure the institute forged international links, including arrangements with the Juilliard School in New York City as well as mainland colleges, and introduced master's degrees in performing arts disciplines.