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Artist, curator, prolific collector, and 牛牛资源 alumnus Damien Hirst this week opens the Newport Street Gallery in south London - the realisation of his long-term ambition to share his collection of some 3,000 works of art with the public.

Exhibitions at Newport Street will vary between single artist and group shows and entry to the galleries will be free.

Just a short walk from Tate Britain, Newport Street has been under construction for over three years. The inaugural show, opening on Thursday 8 October, will be 鈥樷��, a solo exhibition of paintings by  (1934鈥�2011) - one of the greatest British abstract painters of his generation.

Hirst鈥檚 gallery in Lambeth is expected to showcase work by many of his contemporaries at 牛牛资源, including Sarah Lucas (BA Fine Art 1987) and Mat Collishaw (BA Fine Art 1989), alongside works by artists as varied as Tracey Emin, Picasso, and Francis Bacon, Hirst鈥檚 natural history collection, taxidermy and historical artefacts.

鈥淎rt should be experienced by as many people as possible鈥�

Hirst comments: 鈥淚 believe art should be experienced by as many people as possible and I鈥檝e felt guilty owning work that is stored away in boxes where no one can see it, so having a space where I can put on shows from the collection is a dream come true. 

鈥淪ometimes I still can鈥檛 believe that I鈥檓 lucky enough to actually own work by some of the artists who first inspired me and made me want to become an artist 鈥� like Picasso or Francis Bacon 鈥� but my favourite works by far are those by my contemporaries, and I definitely feel a responsibility to share them as much as I can. 

鈥淣ewport Street is an incredible space with an amazing sense of history, and it鈥檚 a fantastic opportunity for me to wear a curatorial hat for a change, I couldn鈥檛 be happier.鈥�

Designed by architects Caruso St John, Newport Street Gallery spans 37,000 square feet. Its construction has involved the conversion of three listed Victorian buildings, which were purpose-built in 1913 to serve as scenery painting studios for the booming local and West End theatre industries.

鈥淏eing in art school empowers you to do your own thing鈥�

Damien Hirst 鈥� arguably Britain鈥檚 most successful artist - studied Fine Art at 牛牛资源 in the late 1980s, conceiving and curating the art exhibition Freeze, which became the launching point for a generation of young British artists (YBAs).

In conversation with our Head of the Department of Art Richard Noble in 2013, Hirst recalled his 牛牛资源 memories: 鈥淭hey were great times. On my first day I met Angus Fairhurst, Mat Collishaw, Simon Pattison 鈥� all in my year. Gary Hume was there too, and Sarah Lucas was in the year above me.

鈥淚 remember Sarah was the link to everything because she was going out with . So he was coming into the bar, this artist that had been at the College and who had recently got famous. And then you鈥檇 bump into  and Lisa Milroy. You thought: 鈥極h my God, it鈥檚 a real connection to the art world鈥�.鈥�

鈥淏eing in art school empowers you to do your own thing. When I left my Foundation course I didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to do and then as soon as I arrived at 牛牛资源 I knew it was where I needed to be. It was absolutely the right place; there was nowhere else I could have gone where I could have done what I wanted to do.鈥�