Established in 1953, the Art Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts (formerly CAFA Gallery) was located at No.5, Xiaowei Lane, Dongcheng District, with a rich collection of some 13,000 works covering a wide variety of genres and styles from ancient to present, China to western countries, and all art fields, including representative works of maestros, contemporary artists, as well as fine students since the foundation of the Academy.

Completed in March 2008, the new art museum, situated in the campus of CAFA (No.8, Huajiadi Nan Street, Chaoyang District), is one of the state-of-the-art art museums in China. Architecture of the museum is a three-dimensional slightly twisted curved surface body, with the curtain wall of natural rock plates together with the most modernistic quasi-sculpture architecture, which just exhibits the reserved and low-profile character of CAFA. It also syncretizes and assorts with the dark grey courtyard-style architecture in the campus, which is designed by Wu Liangyong. The museum covers an area of 14,777 m2, with four floors above ground, two underground and one underground in part. The total exhibition and display area is 6,000 m2 beyond, where F2 is for permanent gallery, displaying permanent exhibits, including selected collections and works by some great artist, etc.; the thematic exhibition gallery is on F3 and 4, designed with open space and daylight curtain, can provide sufficient space for contemporary art exhibition and large art & culture show. There are some open space also, can produce various possibilities for the artists who full of creativity and challenging. The collection warehouse of the museum is on B2, covering an area of 1,240 m2. It adopts the latest information technology and digital management in the world, and has reached the international level in both software and hardware. Public service facilities are on F1. The lecture hall can accommodate 380 people, a convenient place for academic seminar, special lecture and press conference. Other facilities also include the reception desk, café and bookstore.

Committed to an “all-embracing” academic tradition, keep eyes on both past and future, CAFA aims to keep up with the times, create an open, free and academic space; and seeks to make a good interaction between artists and audiences. With the completion and use of the new building, the art museum will organize various exhibitions and academic activities based on the academic research of CAFA to make it become a platform for the exchange of Chinese and foreign art, as well as to provide a space for visit, study and exhibition to CAFA faculties and students, the public, domestic and foreign artists. In particular, besides academic exhibitions, the new museum will hold public and community art education activities to make it become a professional and internationalized art museum in China.