More than 12 months after its fanfare opening, the $344 million extension of the Art Gallery of NSW has finally been given a new name.

From Tuesday, the gallery’s modern northern building will be known by the Dharug name Naala Badu, meaning seeing water, and its 132-year-old original building designed by Walter Liberty Vernon, will be named Naala Nura, meaning seeing Country.

The institution of the Art Gallery of NSW will keep its name, but the buildings’ signs will be replaced to reflect the new Indigenous place names for the buildings currently known simply as the north and south wings.

Naala Badu references Sydney Harbour and those waters that have sustained communities throughout NSW. Naala Nura acknowledges Indigenous Country more broadly, and the golden sandstone of the Art Gallery’s original building, hewn from local sites. By using repetition, it’s hoped visitors will absorb the hint that the two buildings are connected.

Art Gallery of NSW director Michael Brand said the names evoke a powerful sense of place. “We intend to carry these names with the deepest respect,” he said.

“At the heart of our vision is recognition of the uniqueness of our location and the layering of its histories, along with a profound respect for Indigenous knowledge and language.”

He acknowledged that the names might take the public a period of adjustment: “We understand that it might take some time for the new names to become commonly used, but we are confident that our staff and visitors will embrace the names and appreciate their meaning.”

Art Gallery trustee and inaugural chair of its Indigenous Advisory Group, acclaimed artist Tony Albert said: “As an Indigenous Australian for whom English is my second language, having not had the opportunity to learn my first language, I applaud the gift of living, breathing language for the Art Gallery’s two buildings.”