After only a year and a half at the helm of Creative Time, executive director Katie Hollander has announced her resignation from the New York-based public art nonprofit. When she steps down on July 1 she will be replaced by acting director Alyssa Nitchun, formerly Creative Time’s deputy director, as the board of trustees embarks on a search for a full-time successor.

Hollander spent almost 10 years with the organization, having started as deputy director of development, moving up the ranks to deputy director, then acting director upon the departure of Creative Time’s longtime leader Anne Pasternak in May 2015, and then finally executive director.

Kara Walker, A Subtlety (2014). Photo Jason Wyche, courtesy Creative Time.

During her tenure Hollander organized Duke Riley’s innovative Fly by Night performance at Brooklyn’s Navy Yard last year, which featured a flock of LED-carrying pigeons illuminating the night sky, and, more recently, Sophie Calle’s idiosyncratic Here Lie the Secrets of the Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery. Prior to becoming director, Hollander helped conceive and organize Kara Walker’s blockbuster public-art installation A Subtlety at Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Refinery. She was also the driving force behind the development of the nonprofit’s publishing wing Creative Time Reports—which was shuttered in March—and was instrumental to creating the annual artist-led conference known as the Creative Time Summit.

“After almost a decade at Creative Time, the time is right for me to explore new possibilities,” Hollander said in a statement. “I’m immensely proud of the team and the lasting impact our projects have had on the cultural community.”

Duke Riley, Fly by Night, 2016. Photo Tod Seelie, courtesy Creative Time.

In the past, Creative Time has been a great career springboard. Anne Pasternak, Hollander’s predecessor, was recruited from the nonprofit to lead the Brooklyn Museum.

Thanking Hollander for her contribution to the organization, Suzanne Cochran, chair of Creative Time’s board of trustees, said she “has been vital to the success of Creative Time,” but insisted the nonprofit was looking forward: “Now is a very exciting moment to embark on a search for a new executive director who can bring a fresh perspective to build upon Katie’s legacy and shape a dynamic future for Creative Time.”