When he opened up his eponymous Boundary Road gallery in north London he started a process that would lead to the UK becoming one of the most exciting, innovative and open places in the world for an artist to live and work.

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Next door is the National Portrait Gallery and just across the road is the attractive church of St Martin in the Fields, where you can enjoy free classical music recitals at 1pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.

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Further north, on Peckham Road, is the small but influential South London Gallery (SLG) and the Camberwell College of Arts, whose alumni include Mike Leigh, a filmmaker, and Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's legendary acid-casualty guitarist.

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He invested in a motorbike to carry them around, sold them a few paintings and started down the road that would one day see him create a gallery, a boutique hotel and a beautiful museum of art in Ubud.

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Gillman Barracks Art Galleries opened in September 2012 on Lock Road in the Telok Blangah neighbourhood, with 13 different gallery spaces for contemporary works by artists from across Asia.

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