Tag: Hidden Door Festival

Hidden Door to transform huge warehouse into exhibition space

HIDDEN Door have revealed plans to transform a disused warehouse into a vast exhibition and performance space as part of their 2021 arts festival in Granton this September.

The festival group is launching a crowdfunder to pay for use of the warehouse space. They explain:

This year’s five day festival is taking place outdoors, on land next to the Granton Gasworks, from 15 – 19 September. However, the open air venue isn’t suitable for visual art exhibitions, so we have now got the chance to make use of a nearby warehouse as well, if we can raise the necessary funds to make it happen.

The additional venue will double the footprint of the festival, allowing 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 are set to launch a crowdfunder to raise £10,000, with supporters able to pick from a wide range of rewards including an immersive treasure hunt experience through the festival grounds, exclusive hand-printed T-shirts from Acorn Print Studio, VIP passes for the festival and limited edition prints by Hidden Door artists.​​

The visual artists will be chosen from Hidden Door’s Graduate Support Network, launched earlier this year to support recent graduates. These artists will be paid for their work through the proceeds raised from this year’s Crowdfunder. For many of them, it will be their first paid creative opportunity.

Hannah Stewart, Project Manager, said: “Graduates across Scotland have missed out on the opportunity to exhibit their work because of the onset of a global pandemic. This has greatly impacted their introduction to the industry and their subsequent livelihood.

“It goes without saying that the last 16 months have been challenging for everyone, especially the Arts and Culture sector. These artists are not only trying to establish themselves and their career, but to reinforce the importance and value of art and culture during these unprecedented times.

“As a festival that celebrates the artistic integrity of Scotland and the wider UK, it is Hidden Door’s duty to help alleviate these artists’ feelings of being devalued, discouraged and despairing.

“We at Hidden Door want to help give these emerging artists the exhibition they deserve. We also want to make sure Scotland doesn’t miss out on the fresh creativity and drive that enriches the country.

“We have the venue and we’ve found the talent; we just need the community’s support to make it happen!”

The crowdfunding campaign will be launched on Kickstarter soon. 

Subscribe to Hidden Door’s mailing list to be notified when it’s live!

Hidden Door Festival heads to Granton Gasometer

MAIN PICTURE: Fabio Scalici Photography

Hidden Door Festival 2021 is heading to Granton Gasworks, with the festival taking place in the shadow of the historic gas holder. The site at West Shore Road will be transformed into an outdoor celebration of music, visual art, theatre, dance and spoken word from 15 – 19 September 2021.

Organisers plan on building two stages for music performances, lighting up the gas holder to create a dramatic backdrop, with sculptures displayed throughout the site.

The large, open space will allow Hidden Door 2021 to be flexible, adapting to comply with the  coronavirus restrictions in place at the time.

Over five days, the event will showcase the work of at least 30 graduates, four site artists, eight dance groups and two theatre companies, highlighting some of the best emerging talent in Scotland.

An old pencil drawing of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza sitting on their horses, by Wilhelm Marstrand.

David Martin, Creative Director of Hidden Door, said: “Taking on the site of the Granton Gasworks is an exciting opportunity for Hidden Door to adapt, as we need to, in order to start bringing live events back to the city. We are used to working in the nooks and crannies of disused buildings, so moving to a big open site like this is really liberating!

“We are designing the event so that there will be enough space for everyone to be safe and to be able to accommodate social distancing if we still need to work with those restrictions, but the epic nature of the site, with the incredible gas tower landmark looming over us, means we will be able to create a spectacle and an atmosphere, and bring about the wow-factor that our audience expects from a Hidden Door venue. 

“We can’t wait to get on site and start turning it into a creative and joyful showcase of Scotland’s emerging talent. Early career artists and performers have been so badly affected by the pandemic, so they are front and centre for this event, and we are looking forward to showing how much talent there is to celebrate.”

Edinburgh College, who occupy the area close to the Gasworks where the festival will be held, are enthusiastically welcoming the festival on to the site. As well as opening the gates to Hidden Door, they hope to use the festival as a training opportunity for students on a number of courses.

Jakki Jeffery, Head of Creative Industries at Edinburgh College, said: “It’s fantastic that Hidden Door have chosen this site close to the iconic Granton Gasworks to host their 2021 festival.

“It will be wonderful to see the space transformed to showcase creative talent which we hope our students can play a part in, and take inspiration and experience from to boost their future careers.” 

Tickets

Tickets are available via www.hiddendoorblog.org/tickets or from Citizen Ticket. Once the full programme is announced, ticket holders will be able to select which days they would like to attend.