NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary school-age children.

Before that, NOCCA was housed for many years in an old elementary school building on Perrier Street in Uptown New Orleans.

Launched in the fall of 2011, NOCCA's Academic Studio is a full-day, diploma-granting attendance option.

Some of the Foundation’s more notable endeavors include: a Student Success Program that pays for students’ classroom supplies as well as fees associated with important summer training programs across the country; an Artists-in-Residence Program that brings more than 100 professional visiting artists into NOCCA’s classrooms each year; the capital campaign for NOCCA’s current home and expansion projects like Press Street Gardens; a wide array of arts classes for adults; and concert, gallery, and literary events for the community.

The Foundation also oversees rentals of the NOCCA campus, making it available to arts organizations, individuals, corporations, and other groups.