Hidden Door arts festival announces 2015 dates
Edinburgh’s Hidden Door arts festival has announced dates and plans for its 2015 edition, with a derelict former depot in the heart of the Old Town the proposed location for the nine-day long event.
Hidden Door hope to stage this year’s festival in the buildings and courtyard of the disused street lighting depot on Kings Stables Road off the Grassmarket, but have secured a back-up venue in the event that their preferred site is unavailable. Hidden Door said: "Due to the nature of using disused buildings, negotiations with the council to confirm the use of the site are ongoing, but with another venue safely tucked up the Hidden Door sleeve, the festival go-ahead is guaranteed."
Last year’s event took place at the then-unused Market Street Vaults, which were later sold on to a property developer to be converted into retail units having been restored by a group of artists and volunteers. In a blog post last year, Hidden Door admitted that the Kings Stables Road depot is in a similar situation, saying: "We can often only get an opportunity to use buildings when they are ready to be sold and developed, and this site is no exception." The subsequent respraying of murals on the front of the 24 vaults at the Market Street site then sparked a fiery debate between some of the capital's street artists and Hidden Door organisers.
Organisers promise a programme of over 100 artists from across the cultural spectrum, with live music, exhibition spaces, and a performance art programme curated by the Royal Scottish Academy – last year's Hidden Door was nominated for the City Award at the Creative Edinburgh awards late in 2014.
Hidden Door 2015 will take place in Edinburgh on 22-30 May; early bird tickets for the opening party are on sale now via hiddendoorblog.org
• Were you involved in last year’s event? Are you excited for this year’s edition? What did you think of Hidden Door 2014, and what would you like to see improved or changed in 2015? Let us know in the comments, or on Twitter @theskinnymag.