The National Center for the Arts was built on the Circuito Interior, between the Tlalpan and Miramontes avenues. It stands out for its attractive contemporary architecture and was inaugurated in 1994.

The center aims to generate and promote the arts in all disciplines.

The complex includes the Theater of the Arts, the Management and Research Tower, the Library of the Arts, and the central building, which houses the five higher schools of the National Institute of Fine Arts: the National School of Theater Arts, which includes the Salvador Novo Theater and the Antonio López Mancera Forum, the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance, which includes the Raúl Flores Canelo Theater and the Experimental Forum, the National School of Painting, Sculpture, and Printmaking, with the La Esmeralda Gallery, and the Superior School of Music, which includes the Blas Galindo Auditorium and the Cinematography Training Center.

It has its own research centers, a library, and a multimedia center.

It hosts important cultural events, as its 12 performance spaces are used for theater plays, concerts, film screenings, workshops, exhibitions, and conferences.

On weekends, there are children's shows, including theater and music performances.