Founded in 1992, the Crimean Tatar Museum of Arts was initially known as the Crimean Tatar National Gallery under the public organization "Crimean Tatar Culture Fund." The museum's collection began with works by Crimean Tatar artists selected at the first All-Union Exhibition of Crimean Tatar Artists, which took place in March-April 1990 at the Crimean House of Artists. The exhibition was organized by the Coordination Center for the Revival of Crimean Tatar Culture and the Crimean Organization of the Union of Artists of Ukraine, initiated by I. A. Zaatov and M. Yu. Churlu. In 1993, the gallery became part of the Association of Crimean Tatar Artists, which continued its development and exhibition activities.

An important step in the establishment of the gallery was a tripartite agreement signed in 1993 between the Association of Crimean Tatar Artists, the State Committee for Nationalities and Deported Citizens of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the Simferopol Art Museum. Under this agreement, the committee provided funding to replenish the collection, the museum was responsible for the preservation of exhibits and providing premises, while the Association focused on forming collections and promoting art. In 1996, the gallery became part of the Republican Crimean Tatar Library named after I. Gasprinsky and was renamed the Museum of Fine Arts of the Crimean Tatars. In 1998, it received a new name, the Museum of Crimean Tatar Art. Since December 14, 1999, the museum has been an independent cultural institution, and since 2000, it has been part of the structure of the Ministry of Culture of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The museum has been led by E. Cherkezova, F. Asanova, I. Zaatov, and is currently headed by S. Eminova.

The Crimean Tatar Museum of Arts serves as a scientific and methodological center for studying and promoting the cultural heritage of the Crimean Tatar people. It has six departments: decorative and applied arts, visual arts, history of music, dance, theater and cinema, Islamic art, the Amet-Khan Sultan Museum, and the exhibition and display department.

The core of the museum's collection consists of works by contemporary Crimean Tatar artists selected at the first exhibition. In 1994, the funds were replenished with items of national decorative and applied art from the private collection of A. Umerov and K. Dobra. In 2005, the museum received facsimile paintings by August Wilhelm Kizevetter from the Berlin Picture Gallery. The collections include decorative and applied art from the 18th and 20th centuries, visual arts, ancient books, photographs, postcards, coins, as well as materials on Crimean Tatar theater and folklore.

From 1992 to 2007, the museum's exhibits were stored in the Simferopol Art Museum, and since 2007, in the Crimean Local History Museum. Currently, the collection contains over 5000 exhibits. Museum staff conduct research in the field of Crimean Tatar culture, participate in conferences, publish articles, and organize exhibitions.