[5][6][4] The college is named after Ethiopia's most well-known contemporary artist Skunder Boghossian, who taught in AAU's School of Fine Arts and Design.
[8] It was founded by the artist Alle Felegeselam with the support of Emperor Haile Selassie and the former Ministry of Education and Fine Arts.
[6] In 1975 the school began requiring students to have completed the tenth grade and to pass an art aptitude test.
[1] The school's mandate was "to train music teachers and professional musicians, promote cultural exchanges, impart social prestige to the profession, and educate the public.
The Gebre Kristos Desta Center and Modern Art Museum was founded in 2005 and opened to the public in 2008.
[18][17] The center has permanent exhibits of some Ethiopia's best known modern artists, including Desta and Boghossian, as well as Abdruhman Sherif, Yohannes Gedamu, Tibebe Teffa, Behailu Bezabeh, Bekele Mekonen, and Bisrat Shibabaw.
[17] It has hosted temporary exhibits the work of such well-known Ethiopian modern artists Julie Mehretu, Emeka Ogboh, and Michael Tsegaye.