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Posted: 2018-02-23 17:17:23

The NSW government is advertising the job of director of the Art Gallery of NSW, but the incumbent Michael Brand will seek to have his contract extended for the high-profile job that will include the long-awaited doubling of exhibition space called Sydney Modern.

A gallery spokesperson confirmed on Friday that Mr Brand would submit a formal application to continue in the job.  The senior NSW public service position attracts an annual salary of $452,250. 

As part of the transition to new Public Service Senior Executive (PSSE) contracts, jobs for all current senior executives - including existing directors of large cultural institutions - must be advertised before they are filled or extended after the initial term has expired, a spokesperson said. 

Appointed in 2012, Mr Brand's five-year contract expired last June, but it was extended for another year by the gallery's board of trustees.

The president of the trustees, David Gonski, said the one-year extension had been designed to avoid advertising the job in the middle of  negotiations for the expansion of the Art Gallery of NSW called Sydney Modern. It will double exhibition space with a series of modern buildings floating down to the north east of the Botanical Gardens and across the Cahill Expressway from the current buildings on Art Gallery Road, opposite the Domain. It is expected to open in 2021, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the gallery.

Some critics claimed last year that Mr Brand's future would hinge on his ability to secure funding for the project.

Since then, though, the gallery has received pledges of $80 million (out of its goal of $100 million) including $20 million from private donors, including the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation, the latest annual report says.

In June 2017, the NSW government also promised $244 million.

Arts Minister Don Harwin said for too long NSW had lost out to Melbourne and even Brisbane when it came to attracting major international art exhibitions. "That will change now," he said.

This combined public and private funding for the gallery expansion will "make it an unsurpassed public-private partnership in the Australian arts, and a remarkable show of support for thegallery and its future" , said AGNSW's 2017 annual report released last December. Visitor numbers also rose 20 per cent to 1.4 million.

The advertisement on "I work for NSW" says the role of director is to provide strategic leadership and artistic direction, and to manage about 300 staff.

After extensive negotiations over the location and size of Sydney Modern, Mr Brand probably understands the "key challenges" listed, including managing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders, including trustees, donors and the community.

After 33 years under previous director Edmund Capon, Mr Brand's initial tenure at the gallery was controversial, with some staff and volunteers unhappy with changes.

But a longtime volunteer said on Friday that the bitchiness directed towards Mr Brand had been  a bit like watching a David Williamson play unfold.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," the volunteer said. "People appeared to criticise him for Sydney Modern, but it [the idea] had been around for years before he arrived. But he is ethical, bright, academically qualified."

The Sydney Modern expansion was floated by Mr Capon and his deputy, Anne Flanagan, several years before Mr Brand took the helm.

The last annual report before Mr Brand urged change: "Maintaining the ‘status quo’ will not serve to benefit the gallery’s footing on an international stage and would more than likely result in a slow death."

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