Albury Council has confirmed Ms Hemsley is returning to her former role as the city’s cultural services group leader, as planned, and Ms Acimovic is heading back to her home state of Queensland after landing the director position at Rockhampton Art Gallery.

Ms Hemsley was appointed to the MAMA director position when council was unable to find a suitable candidate to head up the gallery before its opening in October last year.

“MAMA is now ready for a dynamic, experienced and ambitious director to grab the reins and take this nationally recognised art museum and team to new heights as a regional arts leader,” she said.

“I’m very proud to see Bianca, MAMA’s first curator, move on to a wonderful opportunity to be the director of her own gallery.

“It’s important that MAMA not only builds artistic careers but professional ones as well.”

MAMA has attracted more than 84,000 visitors since opening and will inject about $20 million into the local economy in its first year, up from an estimated $9.6 million.

The council’s community and recreation director James Jenkins paid tribute to Ms Hemsley and Ms Acimovic for their dedication to MAMA.

“They have done a remarkable job for MAMA, for Albury Council and for our community,” he said.

“They have put MAMA on the map.

“We’re now seeking a new team to seize this incredible opportunity to take MAMA to the next level.”

Ms Acimovic’s last day will be the official opening of MAMA’s latest major exhibition, SPEED: The Fast & The Curious on August 20.

“I'm very proud of this exhibition and we're going into overdrive for SPEED's opening,” she said.

“We're even closing Dean Street for a street parade of vehicles from 9.30am on August 20 for the opening of the exhibition.”

Ms Acimovic has been part of Albury’s cultural services team since 2010 after previously working at galleries at Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Cairns in her home state.

Ms Hemsley was formerly the director at galleries in New Zealand, Broken Hill and Gippsland before joining council.