The Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) (1110 Calle 120 between 9th and 13th, Playa, Havana, Cuba) was inaugurated on September 1, 1976. Its creation was determined that same year. ISA is Cuba’s university of the arts. Initially, it consisted of three faculties: Music, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. It was directed and under the tutelage of the notable Cuban pedagogue and art critic Mario Rodríguez Alemán, who was its founding rector.

In 1987 and 1989, the Dance Arts (with specializations in Ballet, Contemporary Dance, and Folk Dance) and Audiovisual Media Arts programs and faculties opened their doors, respectively.

In 1994, the Faculties of Theatre and Dance were consolidated under one roof and name: the Faculty of Performing Arts. This was done for organizational, methodological, and economic reasons.

The academic structure of ISA (Calle 120 No. 1110 between 9th and 13th, Playa, Havana, Cuba) has expanded to include two branches in the provinces of Holguín and Camagüey, and a teaching unit in Santiago de Cuba. It also comprises four faculties: the three initial faculties and the Faculty of Audiovisual Media Arts. This has led to an increase in the number of profiles, which now total 39.

Its work also includes a wide range of short and extension courses, including the training of Cuban and foreign teachers seeking a Doctor of Science degree in the Arts.

The Instituto Superior de Arte (120th Street No. 1110 between 9th and 13th, Playa, Havana, Cuba), due to the arduous work it has carried out since its founding in 1962, in the training of artists in different fields, has received well-deserved awards such as: In 1996, the National Prize for Artistic Teaching was established, conceived to recognize the work of a lifetime in service to the teaching of the arts. In 1999, the Imperial Prize awarded by the Japan Association of the Arts.