Adrian Searle

The opportunities to consume art, books and cinema alongside studying in Edinburgh have influenced Adrian Searle’s career in more ways than one.

Your time at the University

I could talk all day about my four years at Edinburgh. I loved every minute. To study at one of the world’s best universities in a beautiful capital city was very inspiring.

To study History and History of Art in a city steeped in both was great. Edinburgh was great for accommodation (I lived in Pollock Halls in my first year, then in Causewayside in my second and Bruntsfield in my final two years), and also for summer jobs.

I worked as a porter in Edinburgh’s best hotels every summer, starting with the North British (now the Balmoral). I even met the Queen during the Commonwealth Games in 1986. I also had great Saturday jobs - including walking a very stupid but lovely dog called Seamus and selling posh tiles to rich Edinburghers.

Social life in Edinburgh was always great and I spent a lot of time in pubs. Also the second hand book shop scene was great - I bought far too many books, many of which I still have.

Tell us about your Experiences since leaving the University

My love of books has come full circle as I now run one of Scotland’s leading publishers, Freight Books, and I’m a published author. Having published Look Up Glasgow, a photography book about the amazing sculptures at the tops of buildings in Scotland’s biggest city, together with photographer David Barbour, which has been a big success, I recently followed up with Look Up Edinburgh, which I authored myself, and Look Up London, together with David again.

I’ve also won two awards for the humour book 101 Uses of a Dead Kindle, and have been nominated for an award for If Dogs Could Swear, both authored with the artist and illustrator Judith Hastie.

In addition to running Freight Books, which was founded in 2012, and has been runner up Scottish Publisher of the Year for the last two years, I also co-founded the design and marketing consultancy Freight Design in 2001, of which I’m a co-director. I and my fellow director carried out a management buy-out in 2009 from the advertising agency that owned Freight.

My degree and time in Edinburgh has had a big influence on my career. My intellectual training has been invaluable, as have the communication skills developed during the four years spent at the University.

Prior to Freight I was marketing controller of a 600 shop high street photography chain for four years. Before that I spent two years as the first ever creative industries specialist in Scottish Enterprise. Other roles involved design consultancy and my career started with a job in a large advertising agency in Belfast in 1990, after short spells in the army and teaching.

My degree and time in Edinburgh has had a big influence on my career. My intellectual training has been invaluable, as have the communication skills developed during the four years spent at the University.

I developed a strong interest in Scottish art and literature while at Edinburgh, two things that continue to give me great pleasure today. I also reviewed films for Student newspaper when I was in Edinburgh and I continue to write occasional journalism and go to the cinema all the time. I recently received personal thanks from Alex Salmond on his last day as First Minister for a piece I wrote on the BBC.

Other things to mention: I was chair of the Chartered Society of Designers in Scotland for 4 years and I’ve served on the boards of several arts organisations. I also founded and co-edit Gutter, Scotland’s leading magazine of new writing.

Alumni wisdom

Make the most of your time as an undergraduate, you’ll never have as much freedom again. Work hard, play hard.