Art Gallery of NSW director Michael Brand will step down after more than a decade at the helm of the institution in an announcement set to shake up Australia’s arts scene.

Brand, only the ninth director of the gallery, will depart in July 2025, triggering a national and international search for a successor that could result in the first woman being appointed to the leadership position since the gallery’s foundation in 1881.

His notice of departure comes almost two years to the day since the ribbon was cut on the organisation’s new building, Sydney Modern, a project he was appointed to oversee that has helped the gallery welcome 4 million visitors.

Brand said the timing was right to “transition to a new generation of leadership” in a note to senior staff circulated after a small private function hosted by the gallery’s president, David Gonski, on Monday night.

A scholar of Indian and Islamic art with deep connections to the international art world, Brand has not announced his plans but is not thought to be retiring.

“When we unveiled the Sydney Modern vision in 2013, I said it would be a green light for art, artists and audiences,” Brand said in a statement issued to this masthead.

“I am extremely proud of all that we have achieved together in the last 12 years to create a unique art museum experience on Gadigal country in Sydney for our local and international audiences. The ambitious project is what called me back to Australia and so my decision to step down next year follows much reflection.

“As we are now building on the success of the Sydney Modern transformation, it feels like the right time to transition to a new generation of leadership for the next exciting chapter in the history of our 153-year-old art museum.”

The gallery’s deputy director, Maud Page, is regarded as a frontrunner while the former assistant director of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Lisa Slade, could be tapped for the top role.