南京视觉艺术学院始建于2000年，其前身为南京林业大学南方摄影学院。2005年，经江苏省人民政府批准独立转设，成为一所专注于视觉艺术教育的高等学府、长三角地区乃至全国文化创意人才培养的特色高地。

学校坐落于南京溧水空港新城，800亩生态校园山水相依、环境雅致，既是艺术灵感迸发的沃土，更是求学成长的理想秘境。

围绕文化创意产业需求，学校构建“艺术+科技”深度融合的学科生态：设有设计系、传媒系、音乐系、人文系四大教学单位，开设影视传媒、艺术设计、音乐舞蹈等25个专业方向，其中摄影摄像技术、数字媒体艺术设计、建筑设计、影视动画、音乐表演、舞蹈表演六大重点专业领航发展，精准培育复合型艺术人才。

周宁摄影博物馆、南视觉当代艺术博物馆、南视觉国际艺术会展中心等一流设施全覆盖，更有数字化演播厅、音乐厅、专业摄影棚、高尔夫练习场等特色空间赋能实践，让创意从构想落地为现实。

建校以来，学校始终秉承“精艺创新、追求卓越”校训，大力实施国际化战略，已为社会输送数万名德才兼备的艺术与传媒精英，成为行业高度认可的“视觉艺术人才摇篮”。

Nanjing Institute of Visual Arts, founded in 2000,was formerly the Southern Institution of Photography of Nanjing Forestry University. In 2005,approved by the People's Government of Jiangsu Province, it has been  independently transformed into a higher education institution focusing on visual art education, and a characteristic area for cultivating cultural and creative talents in the Yangtze River Delta and even the whole country.

The Institute is located in the Airport New City of Lishui, Nanjing, with 800-mu ecological campus, surrounded by mountains and waters with an elegant environment. It is not only a fertile ground for the outbreak of artistic inspiration but also an ideal place for studying and growing.

Focusing on the needs of the cultural and creative industry, the institute has built a discipline ecology of in-depth integration of "art and technology": it has four teaching units, namely the Department of Design, the Department of Media, the Department of Music, and the Department of Humanities Arts, and offers 25 professional directions including film and television media, art design, and music and dance, etc . Among them, six dominating majors, namely Photographic Camera Technology, Digital Media Art Design, Architectural Design, Film and Television Animation, Music Performance, and Dance Performance, take the lead in development and accurately cultivate compound art talents.

The Institute has some first-class facilities such as Ning Zhou Photography Museum,NIVA Contemporary Art Museum,and NIVA International Art Exhibition and Convention Center. In addition, characteristic spaces such as digital studios, concert halls, professional photography studios, and golf driving ranges empower practice, have enabled the creativity to be transformed from conception to reality.

Since its establishment, the Institute has always adhered to the school motto of "Artistic, Innovation, Pursuit, Excellence ", vigorously implemented the internationalization strategy, and has delivered tens of thousands of art and media elites with both virtue and art to the society, becoming a "cradle of visual art talents" highly recognized by the industry.