In 1959 a decree was passed establishing a National School of Fine Arts together with a National School of Music and Dance under the Ministry of Education, Sport and Religious Affairs of the Royal Lao Government; the new National School of Fine Arts opened in 1962 in the former colonial library building at Ban Anou in central Vientiane, initially offering a four-year intermediate or higher secondary programme of study. In 1998 the School was relocated to the Ban Phonpapao campus on the outskirts of Vientiane, alongside the National School of Music and Dance, although the Dean's Office and the first- and second-year classrooms have remained in the old wooden buildings at Ban Anou. In 2002 the curriculum was expanded and the institution now offers four-year intermediate or upper secondary level programmes leading a Certificate and five-year tertiary level programmes leading to a Diploma, with specialisation in either Painting, Sculpture, Graphic Art, Ceramics, Metalwork or Traditional Drawing. A general school curriculum is also offered, comprising Mathematics, Geography, History, English, Politics and Moral and Upright Living. Completion of the four-year intermediate programme, which is also offered at the provincial Schools of Fine Arts in Luang Prabang and Savannakhet, is a prerequisite for admission to the five-year Diploma programme. At the time of writing there are 204 intermediate students (16 female) and 61 Diploma students (6 female); the average ages of students taking these courses is 16-20 for the intermediate Certificate course and 20-25 for the tertiary Diploma course. Most graduates of the Faculty find work in traditional craft production, while the best Diploma students are recruited to work as teachers at the college. While the Schools of Fine Arts in Luang Prabang and Savannakhet are run by their respective provincial governments, the National Faculty of Fine Arts offers advice and guidance on curricular matters. In 2004 the National School of Fine Arts was renamed the National Faculty of Fine Arts in anticipation of plans to turn the institution into a Faculty of the proposed University of Arts. Subject to funding the latter will be established at the Ban Phonpapao campus in 2005-6. The new University will comprise three Faculties – the Faculty of Dance and Music (currently the National School of Music and Dance), the Faculty of Fine Arts (currently the National College of Fine Arts) and the Faculty of Mass Media (currently the National Mass Media Training Centre at Ban Simuang in central Vientiane). Under this arrangement the new Faculty of Fine Arts will cease to offer intermediate programmes, focusing only on the five-year Diploma programme. Thereafter intermediate programmes will be available only at the Schools of Fine Arts in Luang Prabang and Savannakhet. Like its neighbour the National Faculty of Music and Dance, the National Faculty of Fine Arts is presently housed in sub-standard buildings with a ratio of 40 students per classroom, and even if the proposed University of Arts is established it is unlikely that there will be any budget for the construction of new buildings. At the present time too, the College has no dormitory accommodation for students from outside Vientiane. Equipment and books are also in short supply, although the situation has improved somewhat in recent years following donations by the Vietnamese, French and Japanese governments. However, there is a complete absence of modern teaching aids such as computers and videos, and the onus is on the students themselves to buy their own books.

The National Faculty of Fine Arts is a partner in the Mekong Art and Culture Project, a two-year collaborative project spanning six activities, four countries and eight art institutes across the Greater Mekong Subregion.

The following two provincial schools are subject to the academic supervision of the National Faculty of Fine Arts: