Aadiwasi Lok Kala Academy was established in 1980 with the objective of encouraging, preserving and developing the tribal arts. It has been carrying out in-depth research and surveys of tribal cultural traditions for many years now. The scope of this institution is to promote study of rituals, events, festivals and belief systems as part of the field of visual arts and oral tribal traditions.
The main activities of the Academy are:
Survey, Documentation and Compilation - The academy has been documenting various forms of folk arts like dance, music, crafts and folk tales and publishing them as audio and video CDs. The academy's collection of tribal artifacts includes jewellery, crafts, musical instruments; it also has a rare collection of Ramkatha paintings in various styles from different states of India. The academy has conducted a comprehensive survey and documentation of the life, literature and culture of various tribes. Workshops and training programmes on many of these arts and crafts are also conducted by the academy.
Museums - The academy runs two museums – Adivarta on tribal folk arts and Saket Ramkatha Museum, Orccha, on arts and artifacts related to Ramkatha and Ramleela.
Festivals - The academy organizes ten main festival related to the tribal arts and folk theatre, chief amongst them being Lok Rang, Ram Leela Mela, Nimad Utsav, Sampada and Shruti Samaroh. It also organizes festivals related to Sant Tulsidas – Tulsi Utsava, Tulsi Jayanti Samaroh and Mangalacharan.
Research and Publications – The academy publishes a quarterly magazine on tribal arts, literature and culture called Chaumasa, to disseminate information about this topic to a wider audience. Besides this, it also publishes pamphlets, children's literature, regional/tribe specific literature, portfolios and greeting cards.