The IGNCA is a cultural institution and not a museum. The arts here comprise creative and critical literature, written and oral; the visual arts, ranging from architecture, sculpture, painting and graphics to general material culture, photography and film; the performing arts of music, dance and theatre in their broadest connotation; and intangible heritage in fairs, festivals and lifestyle with an artistic dimension. Through diverse programmes of research, publication, training, creative activities and performance, the IGNCA seeks to place the arts within the context of interdisciplinary approach. It serves as a major resource centre for the arts, especially written, oral and visual materials. One of the programmes of this centre, in collaboration with UNDP, is to utilize multimedia computer technology to create a wide variety of software packages that communicate cultural information.

About the collection: The unique collections have been analysed as :
• Elizabeth Brunner Paintings
• Benoy K. Behl Collection
• Shambhunath Mitra Collection
• Ananda Coomaraswamy Collection
• Henri Cariter-Bresson Collection
• Shambu Shaha Collection
• Raja Lala Deen Dayal Collection
• Yashodhar Mathpal Collection