Luxun Academy of Fine Arts grew out of Luxun Art College, which was founded in Yan'an in 1938 on the initiative of such late revolutionists as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.

In 1946, LAC moved to Qiqiha'er, Jiamusi,Harbin and Shenyang successively, whose name was once changed to Northeast Luxun Institute of Literature and Art. In 1953, Northeast Junior College of Fine Arts was set up basing upon the Fine Arts Department of the Institute near Nanhu Park, Shenyang. And the college's name was changed to the present one in 1958.

Today, LAFA is an institution of higher learning of art, and ranks among the best art schools in China, for its excellent faculty, scientific management, unique way of art education, and a great variety of programs offered.

The academy has 11 departments (with 17 programs), a branch college (offering programs in design and painting), a college of continuing education and an attached secondary art school. The departments are Chinese painting, print, oil painting, sculpture, photography, art education, graphic design (including the programs in graphic, decoration and multimedia design), environmental art design (including the programs in city planning and design), textile and fashion design (including the programs in textile and fashion design), industrial design (including the programs in industrial and ceramics), and history and theory of art. The College of Continuing Education devised into three parts: full-time study, correspondence study and self-taught education, with the programs in Chinese painting, graphic design, environmental art design, fashion design, industrial design, photography and art education. The students registered in any program can do the B.F.A., and the ones with the B.F.A. can do the M.F.A. The program of oil painting has been designated as one of the provincial priority subjects. The programs of sculpture and graphic design have been designated as our college priority subjects.

Since the founding of the academy, it has cultivated over 8000 professionals of different levels. Now of an enrollment of 3404 students, there are 2165 undergraduates, 109 master degree candidates, 100 part time postgraduates and 30 foreign students. The College of Continuing Education has an enrollment of 1000 students.

The academy's excellent faculty is proportionally made up of able teachers with professional qualifications. The faculty numbers 259, including 35 professors, 82 associate professors, 96 lecturers and 46 assistant professors. Also, a number of well-known professors are playing active role in the teaching field, 17 of whom enjoy the government allowance for their special contributions.

The academy is not only a well-known institution, but also a center of art creation and academic studies. The number of the prize-winning works at the previous national art exhibitions always placed first. National Art Gallery of China, The Museum of Chinese History, and The Military Museum of China, have collected many works by the faculty members and the alumni. The academy has occupied the first place in the field of panorama in China, the works such as the Conquest of Jinzhou, Qingchuan River Battle, Laiwu Battle, the Conquest of Yuncheng, Chibi Battle and Jinan Battle are the display of the teachers' artistic creativity.
The academy is located on Sanhao Street, the heart of Nanhu Science and Technology Development Zone in Shenyang. The campus occupies an area of 140,000 square meters with the total floorage of teaching area of 116,500 square meters.

The academy library, with total floorage 3500 square meters, has about 190,000 volumes, and its collection of ancient Chinese original painting and calligraphy works, rubbings from ancient steles and cultural relic numbers about 3000 pieces.

The art gallery of the academy with total floorage 2420 square meters provides well-equipped showrooms and good-quality service for art exhibition.

The journal Meiyuan (the Garden of Fine Arts), which began its publication in 1980, enjoys great prestige both at home and abroad. It holds "Meiyuan Cup" prize competition of art works and theses by graduating students from art schools in China each year; holds "Luyi Cup" prize competition of art works by teachers from fine arts departments of normal universities or colleges every two years, all the award-winning works have been published on Meiyuan, and now Meiyuan is also one of the centers of information exchange on national higher art education.

The academy has made remarkable achievements in international exchanges. It has established friendly inter-school relations with more than 10 institutions in Russia, America, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

The Department of Chinese Painting

Drawing, sketch, calligraphy and seal cutting are taught as professional fundamentals, and courses, such as figure painting, landscape painting, and flowers-and-birds painting are offered as specialization options. Each specialization focuses on the study of traditional painting and the experiment with new techniques by way of copying masterpieces and painting from life or nature.
The specialized courses: drawing (including outline drawing), sketch, calligraphy, seal cutting, figure painting (including copying and painting from life), landscape painting (including copying and painting from life), flowers-and-birds painting (including copying and painting from life), professional practice and diploma work.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Print

The program emphasizes the combination of basic courses and specialized courses, and the training of both professional skills and artistic creation. There are specialized fields, such as woodcut, lithograph, copperplate, silkscreen and watercolor. The watercolor studio has been set up under the tutorial system, with emphasis on the study of traditional watercolor and the experiment with new techniques.
The specialized courses: drawing, watercolor, woodcut, and lithograph, copperplate, silkscreen, book binding, professional practice and diploma work.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Oil Painting

The program centers on the observation of nature and basic training in rendering objects or scenes by painting from life or nature. The department carries out studio tutorial system. There are four studios: the first one is the studio of new classicism, with emphasis on the study of traditional oil painting and the experiment with new techniques; the second one is the studio of new realism, with emphasis on the study of modern realistic painting; the third one is the studio of new expressionism, with emphasis on the study of expressional painting; the fourth one is the studio of realism, the large-scale painting studio, focusing on the today's and historical subjects matters (including panorama), which only enrolls graduates.
The specialized courses: drawing, oil painting, material & techniques in oils, copying masterpieces, professional practice and diploma work.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Sculpture

The program offers the courses such as drawing, the round, relief, and mainly concentrates on realistic style from the 1st year to the 3rd year. In the 4th year, it offers mainly the theory of contemporary art and creation, and the experiment creation, the technique of materials processing, public art etc., are also included. In the 5th year, it offers professional creation and diploma work. The program of M.F.A. is chosen on the base of the courses of B.F.A., and each student can choose a special area for further studies.
The specialized courses: drawing, relief, the round, the theory of contemporary art and creation, the technique of material processing, public art, professional creation and diploma work.
The period of schooling: 5 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Photography

The program mainly covers artistic photography, documentary photography, commercial photography, Digital image and film/TV shooting, with emphasis on artistic photography while maintaining the essentials of other forms of art. There are modern studios, darkrooms, multimedia classrooms, the studio of digital image and the studio of nonlinear edition.
The specialized courses: drawing basics, basics of photo theory, black-and-white photography, color photography, photojournalism, advertisement, film/TV shooting, expressive photography, professional creation and diploma work.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Art Education

The department offers programs in oil painting, Chinese painting and watercolor, with drawing and painting as cores.
The specialized courses: drawing, water color, oil painting, Chinese painting, graphic design, sculpture, print, calligraphy, seal cutting, professional practice and creation, diploma work.
The period of schooling: 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Graphic Design

The department offers programs in graphic design, decorative design, and multimedia design.
The specialized courses: painting basics, design basics and professional design. The painting basics intends to help the students make a solid foundation by training of plastic art; the design basics concentrates on design theory, the structure of form, creative thinking and computer-aided design; professional design covers packaging design, advertising design, shop interior design, decorative object and project design, corporal VI system and CI design, animation design, and multimedia web page design.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Environmental Art

The program includes the basics of painting, the basics of design and professional design. There are also Interior Design Studio, Exterior Design Studio and Environmental Design Office. The professional design involves architectural design, view design, city planning design, interior design, etc..
The specialized courses: drawing, color scheme, descriptive geometry, architectural drawing, perspective & design presentation, principles of architectural design, architectural pattern & decoration, shop front design, rooms & furniture design, landscape design, city square & water display design, market design, computer-aided design, ballroom & lighting design, exhibition design & model making, lobby & medium-size lobby design, city planning design, architectural design, detail design in decoration project and media studies.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Textile & Fashion Design

The textile design program aims to familiarize students with the history of Chinese and foreign textile, and gives them a comprehensive, theoretical and practical qualification for work in traditional and modern textile design and decoration design.
The program covers drawing fundamentals such as drawing and color scheme, professional fundamentals such as textile pattern and the variation of the sketch from nature as well as professional design such as textile production.
The specialized courses: drawing, color scheme, Chinese painting, CAD, Chinese folk pattern, history of textile design, basic pattern, media studies, machine-printing design/production, hand-printing design/production, carpet design, embroidery design/production, hand-knitting design/production and integrated design for interior textile.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.
The programs of fashion design includes five parts: drawing fundamentals such as drawing, color scheme and sketch, professional fundamentals such as pattern, composition, technics of clothing picture, etc., technics fundamentals such as sample drawing, three-dimensional cutting, etc., history of fashion in China and foreign countries and fashion design.
The specialized courses: drawing, color scheme, sketch, presentation skill, basic training in design, hand sewing, sloppier-making, fashion design, draping, fashion accessories, media studies, a survey of fashion and history of fashion.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for the M.F.A.

The Department of Industrial Design

The department offers programs in product design and ceramic design, covering painting basics, design basics and professional design.
The specialized courses: drawing, color scheme, typography, mechanical drafting & perspective, history of industrial design, design presentation, mold-making, basics of design technology, applied ergonomics, the process and method of product design, product design, exhibition design, engineering drafting, morphological semantics design, design for series products, and CAD, basics of ceramic crafts, everyday ceramic design, artistic ceramics design, history of ceramics, a survey of wares, traditional ceramic modeling, and the basics of decorative painting.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for the B.F.A.; 3 years of study for M.F.A.

The Department of History and Theory of Art

It aims to cultivate professionals in the field of history and theory of art who have systematic knowledge covering history of art in China and foreign countries, art theories, art archaeology and identification of painting and calligraphy, art appraisal and art criticism, and can carry out research in history and theory of art.
The specialized courses: history of art, history of industrial art, the trends of modern Chinese and foreign art, esthetics, a survey of art, art criticism, theory of Chinese art, theory of calligraphy, appraisal of painting and calligraphy, art archaeology, museumology, basics of painting.
The period of schooling: 4 years of study for B.F.A; 3 years of study for M.F.A.

The Center of Studies of Art and Culture

It consists of the Research Institute of Culture and the Studio of Chinese Figure Painting.
Centering around the construction of every discipline and its development of the academy, the Research Institute of Culture offers theoretical courses on artistic creation and does research in the training and education of art students. It has such research fields as aesthetics, Chinese calligraphy and art literature, etc.
The Studio of Chinese Figure Painting mainly trains and brings up professionals in the field of Chinese and foreign culture. It only offers programs leading to the M.F.A.
The specialized courses: drawing, traditional techniques (fine brush life drawing and ink-wash life drawing) for the 1st year. Drawing from the life (either fine brush drawing or ink-wash drawing) for the 2nd year. Professional creation and diploma work for the 3rd year.
The period of schooling: 3 years of study for M.F.A.

The Department of Fundamental Teaching

This department was reestablished in 2001 on the basis of the original Department of Fundamentals. It consists of such teaching and research sections as Marxism and Leninism, civil virtues, foreign language, PE, and literature, and offers basic courses for all the students in the academy.

The Center of International Art Education Exchange

The Center takes charge of affairs of international exchange. Through its efforts, the academy has established inter-school relations with more than 10 higher education institutions in other countries and formed a channel of friendly exchanges with organizations in over 20 countries and regions. In recent years, the center has received many visiting delegations all over the world, and sent more and more faculties abroad for advanced study, MA programs, quick visit, cultural and artistic exchanges and holding art exhibitions. The academy often invites foreign artists and teachers to give long or short-term lectures. The students from Japan, America, Singapore, South Korea, and Chinese students from Hong Kong and Taiwan study here successively. There is also an apartment building for foreign teachers and students.

Panorama

Large-scale painting studio of the Oil Painting Department has created panoramas such as the Conquest of Jinzhou, Qingchuan River Battle, Laiwu Battle, the Conquest of Yuncheng, Chibi Battle and Jinan Battle, which have led the head of Chinese panorama history and made great influence both at home and abroad.