Academy of Fine Arts and Design (AFAD) in Bratislava was founded on 9 June 1949 by the Act of the Slovak National Council No. 89/1946 Zb.1 It was founded at the beginning of a period marked by the onset of the totalitarian regime in the former Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. This historical fact impacted the development of the Academy in the years to come. For forty years, Academy of Fine Arts and Design was under the pressure of political dogmas promoting the doctrine of socialist realism in art, as well as suffering the political purges afflicting both professors and students. In spite of complicated historical events and ideological repression there were islands of “positive deviation” at the Academy. The resistance to the orthodoxy of socialist realism dictated by the regime was made possible thanks to the intellectual and artistic background of some of the professors and their personal approach to their students. Some departments became legendary and several generations identify with their legacy. Such were the schools of professors Peter Matejka, Jozef Kostka, Vincent Hložník, Albín Brunovský, Václav Cigler, and the like.
After years of totalitarianism, a period of radical changes came, that opened the possibility to hire the new teachers on the basis of a free competition. The AFAD was one of the few schools in Slovakia (or then Czechoslovakia) where the whole teaching staff was selected in this manner. At that time, many ideas were put forth but in the end the structure of the school did not radically change, remaining in the form of coexistence of applied and fine arts clustered in the media defined departments.

The history of AFAD after the year 1989 can be divided into the 4 years periods of rectorship. The sculptor Prof. Jozef Jankovič headed the school for three years (1990 – 1993). In this period, Jozef Jankovič sketched out the basic coordinates of the school structure, academic growth, system of study as well as other school activities. The school also opened to the public via the new Medium Gallery, serving as the exhibition space for students and young artists up to now. At the beginning of the 1990s, we also witness the formation of the first contacts with foreign schools, initially on the bilateral cooperation basis.

For two electoral periods (1993 – 2000), the Academy had been ruled by the architect Prof. Štefan Šlachta. In this period the school was confronted with the growth of new departments and development of study programs. The most important solution to the lack of space was to rebuild and enlarge the building at campus Drotárska cesta. At the same time, a six-year master’s study was divided into a four-year long bachelor’s study and a two-year master’s study.
AFAD started its participation in exchange programs of SOCRATES/ ERASMUS, TEMPUS and CEEPUS, and became a member of The Association Cumulus and ELIA (European League of Institute of Arts).

The sculptor Assoc. Prof. Ján Hoffstädter (two electoral periods 2000-2007) during his first term he forced the introduction of a new credit system of evaluation of study results (ECTS), and in 2000 the first doctoral program entrance examinations took place.
These changes brought the question of an introduction of new technologies into the study process. The establishment of the Institute of Art and Science (IAS) was meant as a new space concentrated on research in and through arts. In its initial phase it was meant as both the technology and theory based research.
During this period the school has been significantly integrated into the international context esp. in European ambience, with growing number of student mobility, and also participation at such international events such as Biennale du design v Saint-Etienne, DESIGN IN SITU in Lille, France, and ESSL AWARD in Klosterneuburg, Austria. The cooperation with cultural institutes, such as Pro Helvetia, the Goethe Institute, British Council, French Institute, Czech Cultural Center and Fulbright Foundation in Bratislava became a common practice at AFAD.
AFAD is now living its new period, lead by the architect and artist Prof. Karol Weisslechner (2007 -2010). The newly appointed rector opened the perspective of revitalisation of life in the institution, concerning all, from students, members of faculty to the staff and services. The tasks faced by the new leadership and management are of the wide scale: from building the student halls, re-vision of study process, re-editing of operation and logistics, to bringing the new spirit into the life of Academy.