 Art education has long traditions in Bergen, as the first school of art was established there in 1772, modelled on the Academy of Art in Copenhagen.The present college, Bergen Academy of Art and Design, is a fairly new institution which in 1996 merged two former institutions; "Vestlandets kunstakademi" which had been founded in 1972 and "Statens høgskole for kunsthåndverk og design" which is dated to 1909.The institution is spread across several buildings at two campuses.