Five exhibition galleries across four floors, the sprawling Lalit Kala Academy or the National Academy of Art, lies in the heart of the city and has stood witness to the evolution of Indian Art over six decades. Set up by the government of India in 1954, the Akademy had for its objective the nurturing of visual arts in not just the city but the country. It was to serve as an apex as well as an autonomous body for this purpose.

The premises is simple, betraying any kind of opulence. It is green and has on old world charm about it. The exhibition halls have been renovated from the times that they were first built to be able to exhibit newer categories of works-digital works as well as bigger installations. It houses a vibrant library that has exhaustive documentation of artists, art trends, biographies and other literature pertinent to Indian Visual Arts. Regular exhibitions and events are held round the year and one can check out its calendar online as well as at the reception of the building in order to plan one’s schedule accordingly. It has centres situated in Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Garhi, Shimla and Shillong.

The Lalit Kala Academy is located on the Mandi House round about overlooking Shank Lal Auditorium on the one side and the National School of Drama on the other.