It was founded in 1970 by independent filmmakers Robert Nakamura, Alan Ohashi, Eddie Wong, and Duane Kubo, who were students of EthnoCommunications, an alternative film school at University of California, Los Angeles.

[1][2] The mission of VC is to "promote intercultural understanding through the creation, presentation, preservation and support of media works by and about Asian Pacific Americans.

"[3] Visual Communications works to achieve this mission by creating learning kits, photographing community events, recording oral histories, and collecting historical images of Asian American life.

[6] In 1970, Nakamura, Ohashi, Wong, and Kubo, who were influenced by the civil rights and anti-war movements, produced a photographic exhibit on Japanese American internment as VC's first project.

The organization provided support services like workshops and training's for Asian American artists, filmmakers, and community members, as well as presentation opportunities for independent media.

[12][13] Alumni include Ernesto Foronda (writer of Better Luck Tomorrow and Co-Director of Sunset Stories), Daniel Hsia (director/writer of Shanghai Calling), Evan Jackson Leong (director of 1040 and the Jeremy Lin documentary Linsanity that premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival), Patrick Epino, Nadine Truong, Timothy Tau, Koji Steven Sakai, Erin Li, Kristina Wong, Grace Su, Christopher Woon, William Lu, Jerry Chan, Ted Chung, Anson Ho, Timothy Jieh, Shawn Chou (Tomato & Eggs), Lisa Nguyen, and Aya Tanimura.

A select group of filmmakers of Asian descent are invited to showcase television and/or film projects to Financiers, Producers, Production Companies, Agents, Managers and Industry Executives.

Grantees work with VC to develop professional relationships and that include one-on-one meetings, panels and other events that take place during the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

[21] VC’s holdings include over 300,000 photographic images, 1,500 titles in the Media Resource Library, 100 films and videos produced by Visual Communications, and over 1,000 hours of oral histories of pan-Asian Pacific American content.