How do you spot art’s next big thing? Or see a key player who will disrupt the art world, such as a street artist like Banksy, before anyone else? Lawrence Alkin, CEO of artrepublic in Brighton knows a thing or two about this.

Running galleries since the early 1980s, Alkin’s eye for art and his talent for spotting the next big thing has helped to launch the careers of artists including Banksy, Jamie Reed, Lucy Sparrow and Magnus Gjoen. He talks to Stuart from Inspiring City about how he started out in the industry, what ‘good art’ means to him, the importance of strong gallery curation and a whole lot of other art-related nonsense.