An office space which has been vacant since 2021 will receive a colourful lease of life when the organisation behind the Hidden Door Festival takes up a new residency.
Councillors on the Finance and Resources Committee have agreed to lease the council-owned building at 133 Lauriston Place for the next 10 years to the Edinburgh-based arts charity, which is currently planning a festival later in 2024 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
They will use the space as an office and creative hub, undertaking repairs to the building while they lease it, in exchange for a favourable rental price.
Finance and Resources Convener, Councillor Mandy Watt, said: “This is a building which needs a lot of work so it hasn’t been occupied for the last few years. I’m delighted that Hidden Door have agreed to take it on and make it their own.
“Known for rejuvenating spaces into vibrant venues, I’ve no doubt they will create an inviting creative hub here. The venue is situated just a short stroll away from the art college and other fantastic venues like the Cameo and the Usher Hall, so the opportunities for collaboration are countless.
“We’re pleased to support a well-loved community arts charity in this way. The permanent location throughout the term of this lease should provide them with greater security and stability and a more accessible building everyone can enjoy.”
Hazel Johnson, Hidden Door’s Festival Director, said: “This is a hugely exciting and important step for Hidden Door – a hub from which to plan our activity and festivals will enable us work more closely with Edinburgh’s creative communities, all year round.
“As a volunteer-led charity, this is a huge milestone – and the timing couldn’t be better, as we both celebrate 10 years of Hidden Door festivals, and look to the future. We can’t wait to get in and get cracking!”
We’ve lined up hundreds of pieces from dozens of past Hidden Door artists for our 2023 Art Sale – the ideal opportunity to grab some wonderful artwork.
Join us at The Hub on Castlehill for our exclusive Preview Night, from 7pm on Friday 8 December for festive drinks and live entertainment, and give yourself the best chance to grab the perfect piece for your wall.
We’ll then be open Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 December, 12-5pm, for those in town doing their Christmas shopping.
All proceeds from the sale will be split between the artists and Hidden Door, so every purchase will go straight towards supporting the local creative community.
Featured artists include: Olivia Turner, Madeline Mackay, MaryAnne Hunt, Jill Martin Boualaxai, Kat Cutler-MacKenzie and Ben Caro, Kathleen McVey, Evie Rose Thornton, Isabelle Phoebe, Elvey Anna Stedman, Jo Fleming Smith, David McDiarmid, Matthew Storstein, Jagoda Sadowska, Joan Smith and more.
Over £2.2m of National Lottery funding is today being shared by 103 community groups across Scotland. Many of the charities and voluntary organisations receiving awards will provide vital support and activities for people as they begin to meet up with others again post pandemic.
Twelve Edinburgh-based projects have received funding in the latest round of awards. The Action Group (above) receives the biggest award – over £124,000 Improving Lives funding – to deliver an 18-month isolation reduction project making connections for people with learning disabilities, autism and other support needs.
Other succesful projects including Hidden Door, Steps to Hope and Water of Leith Trust receive awards of up to £10,000.
Sleep Scotland’s Teens+ Project is an Edinburgh based learning service for students with additional support needs which help them flourish and move on towards a more independent lifestyle.
Thanks to an award of £10,000, they will be able to run a year long programme of activities and support which will address the negative impact of COVID-19 on their students who reported feeling more anxious, isolated, and disconnected as a result of the pandemic.
Shaun Jempson, 34, from Edinburgh, who has additional support needs and who is a student at Teens+ said: “I found lockdown a bit sad and very hard at times as I couldn’t go out with my friends and there wasn’t much do to other than sitting around the house.
“I felt bored and really lonely. The staff at Teens+ helped me to learn things like independence skills, group work, maths and writing which helps me to work towards my future goals. I am excited to learn the new activities because it’s good to try new things and it will help me meet up with people again and learn coping strategies.
Welcoming the funding, Gail Burden, Teens CEO, said: “At Teens+ we believe everyone with additional support needs deserves to thrive. During COVID restrictions it’s been really difficult for our students to keep connected with their peers and they’ve told us that they feel more isolated and anxious as a result.
“This National Lottery funding will help us to run new activities designed to build confidence and wellbeing.
“Our students will be able to be with their friends again through a programme of fun and educational activities that they will design themselves. This will make a huge difference in helping our students move on from COVID-19 and reconnect with their friends and the wider community.”
African Lanarkshire for Mental Healthreceives £7,630 to deliver as series of NHS led workshops to help alleviate any fear and anxiety around getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
The group, who will work with families in the Motherwell area, will also be able to work with people who have additional COVID-19 related mental health issues.
Bethin Kambale, African Lanarkshire for Mental Healthsaid: “These workshops will help give people clear information about the vaccination and help improve their mental health.
“Many of our members are talking about being scared to go to work because of anxiety of catching the virus and we want to help them feel more confident about moving on with their lives post COVID.”
Across Scotland, 103 community projects are today sharing in £2,140,644.
Announcing the funding, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “It’s great to see a such a variety of projects being funded to help people of all ages and backgrounds begin to adapt and recover from the pandemic whether it’s supporting more people like Shaun learn new skills and begin to meet up with friends and families or helping those who may feel scared and anxious to take those small steps back to normality.
“As groups are beginning to bring people together again National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money, they raise is making a huge difference helping to re-connect people of all ages in communities across Scotland.”
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Thanks to National Lottery players, last year we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK.
Over eight in ten (83%) of our grants are for under £10,000 – going to grassroots groups and charities across the UK that are bringing to life amazing ideas that matter to their communities.
Last week we revealed our plan to transform a disused warehouse into a vast exhibition and performance space as part of Hidden Door 2021.
With this year’s festival taking place outdoors at the old Granton Gasworks, we now have the chance to use a nearby warehouse as well, if we can raise the funds to make it happen.
The additional venue will double the footprint of the festival this September and allow us to exhibit the work of recent art graduates whose degree shows were cancelled due to COVID-19.
The graduates, proud parents and audience members alike will be able to immerse themselves in the exhibition experience whilst staying safe and covid-compliant.
To support the plans, we have now launched a Kickstarter campaign with a wide range of rewardsincluding an immersive treasure hunt experience through the festival grounds, exclusive hand-printed T-shirts, VIP passes for the festival, limited edition art prints and lots more.
This will only be possible with your help, so please take a look at the campaign and support us if you can … thank you x
