Although the organization's name specifies African-American artists, the organizational mandate includes all African diasporic art.
The NCAAA is the largest independent black cultural arts institution in New England, United States.
In the 1990s, the NCAAA completely renovated and expanded the 34,000 square foot building with its studios, auditorium, cafeteria, offices and classrooms.
The school continued to serve as an educational and cultural center, it has been a hub of forums, receptions and civil programs of community interests.
Two fires in the early 1980s significantly damaged the firehouse, where the NCAAA was housed, although collections stored at the museum, which had its own facility, were unharmed.