Liberty London boss visits Art School

STUDENTS and staff in the Manchester School of Art enjoyed a guest lecture from Liberty London Managing Director Ed Burstell this week.

The latest Artschool Conversation event featured Ed in conversation with Principal Lecturer Jane McFadyen, and was followed by a signing of Ed’s book At Liberty: From Rehab to the Front Row.

Jane said: “It was a great session. Ed was truly charming and engaging. We toured the building which he loved - he thought the spaces were wonderful.

“He was a joy to interview. So interesting and open and when students asked for advice he not only gave them honest insights into the real world he invited them to keep in touch and to follow up the conversation. Such a boost to their confidence.

“The introduction in his book speaks of it as the story of how ‘a relatively nice guy by nature, but with no connections, managed to make it to the top of a wildly competitive industry.’ Ed’s insight into the real world was inspiring, he covered all the “E”s - employability, employment and enterprise with a refreshing side order of empathy. And enjoyable? It must have been with so many queuing afterwards to buy his book!”

Good advice

Brilliant to have Ed Burstell, MD of @LibertyLondon, here to inspire students at @McrSchArt this afternoon pic.twitter.com/0tq58A5cA9

— Manchester Met Uni (@ManMetUni) November 18, 2015

Marcus Lord, External Liaison Manager for Manchester School of Art, said: “We were very lucky that Ed Burstell made the trip to the art school, and gave such an interesting and inspiring talk. He talked about his life, running Liberty, and had some good advice for our students on developing their careers.

“The event was very useful for our ‘makers’ who heard the first-hand perspective of a ‘buyer’, particularly with Ed being the MD of the world famous Liberty store. Ed talked a lot about creating quality, having a professional approach and had students thinking about the business side of creative practice.

“The ‘Artschool Conversations’ are part of our ongoing strategy to help students develop their professional practice and be better equipped for the real world after graduation.”