The world's first children's gallery was opened in Yerevan on March 13th, 1970, which later was renamed Children’s Art Museum. Art critic Henrik Igityan and pedagogue Zhanna Aghamiryan were the founders. The opening of the gallery was a significant event not only in the art life of Armenia, but also in the whole Soviet Union. There was no such other children's institution in the world.

The Children's Art Museum in Armenia, which initially operated as a gallery with a small exhibition, later acquired a large permanent collection including 150,000 works from Armenia and 120 countries around the world. Individual, group, nationwide, all-union, and international exhibitions have been organized in the museum with great success. Numerous paintings by Armenian children have been viewed with interest in many countries ever since. 

Later, the Children's Gallery served as the basis for the establishment of the National Centre for Aesthetics. The Aesthetic Centre for Armenia was established by the government’s decision on October 18th, 1978. It later became known as National Centre for Aesthetics (NCA), which was one of a kind in the world.

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Almost immediately after its establishment in Yerevan, the National Centre for Aesthetics started the process of establishing its subdivisions in the regions as well. Few years later, NCA Gyumri, NCA Sevan, NCA Goris, NCA Meghri, and NCA Vanadzor began operating fully. The regional subdivisions are one of the key and important links in the artistic education of local children and youth alike. Additionally, they change and galvanize the cultural life of the community. NCA pays special attention to the process of restarting the existing creative, educational and cultural platforms as well as establishing the new ones in border regions and settlements. This is evidenced by the work carried out to establish subdivisions in Tavush region. NCA Studios have already been opened for children and young people in Berd and Dilijan towns.

Since the day of its establishment, NCA has galvanized Armenia’s cultural life with its activities. The results of the work of different subdivisions of NCA are as follow:

• Regularly organized exhibitions presenting children's art works in Armenia and abroad (symposium and exhibition in New York dedicated to aesthetic nurturing in Armenia (1991); exhibition of Armenian children's art works at the World Bank in Washington (1999-2000); exhibition in Strasbourg, Parliament of the Council of Europe (2000),  exhibition in Rome (2000), traveling exhibition in New York, Chicago, and Milwaukee dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as the state religion in Armenia (2001-2002)’ exhibition pertaining to Biblical topics in Marseille in the framework of the project "Year of Armenia in France" (2007), etc.),

• Innovative performances stand out in the Armenian theatrical realm with their different set-ups. The Small Theater has received the Armenian Theatrical Award “Artavazd” ("The Diary of a Madman" (2007), "Ophelia’s Shadow Theater" (2008), "Ne me quitte pas / Don’t Leave Me" (2015)) and has participated in several reputable international festivals of performing arts where it has received multiple awards. The performances have been presented in different countries.

• Quality publications which  brought to life  popular books with illustrations for children ("Bible", "David of Sassoun", "Hovhannes Tumanyan: Armenian fairy tales", etc.); for the first time references have been made to different Armenian artists (Minas, Vruyr, Emil Gazaz, etc.); number of  books with illustrations have been published presenting NCA's major projects and collaborations ("Japan Through the Eyes of Armenian Children" (2011), "Space" (2012), "Henrik Igityan: Creator of the Planet" (2012), "The Power of Love is Invincible" (2012-2016), etc.).

• Organized concerts which contribute to the promotion of national musical instruments, songs, and dance both in Armenia and abroad (in different years the groups of the Children's Philharmonic Orchestra have performed in the USA, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and other countries).

Summing up its operations of 50 years in 2020, NCA restarted its work with a new strategy and vision. Vahan Badalyan, an Honored Art Worker of the Republic of Armenia and an Artistic Director of the NCA’s Small Theater, has been appointed the director of NCA. By adhering to Igityan’s vision as well as adopting the approaches of the modern world, the Centre has expanded the scope of its activities to become more inclusive.  As such, the services will be available not only to children exclusively, but to anyone interested in art. The Centre pays a great attention to introduction of contemporary art in cultural-educational programs as well as in all its activities in general.

Today, the National Centre for Aesthetics is one of the most active and innovative cultural institutions not only in the capital, but also in the entire republic. It periodically comes up with new programs and initiatives. Due to its activities, NCA sets a new qualitative benchmark in the field, remaining faithful to its high spiritual mission and calling.