December 5, 2019
UPDATE – our Visual Art call for proposals is now closed.
Hidden Door is now inviting applications from visual artists interested in being part of next year’s 10-day festival, taking place in Edinburgh from 9 – 18 October 2020.
Hidden Door 2020 will see a secret venue transformed into a temporary live music venue, theatre and performance space, alongside a multitude of art exhibitions and installations.
Visual artists are invited to submit ideas for innovative projects that could encompass anything from paintings to performances. Individuals from across the UK are welcome, and can be at any stage of their career, with new graduates, emerging artists or those looking to develop and innovate their art practice especially encouraged. Selected artists will receive a flat fee of £500 towards their time and project expenses.
By stimulating the public’s interest in the potential of disused spaces, Hidden Door creates an exciting way for audiences to discover new artistic voices in Scotland. Through bringing diverse art forms together, Hidden Door aims to generate a wide audience for the arts and create high-impact events, providing the opportunity for contributors to reach new audiences and meet and work alongside a wide range of practitioners.
There will be further calls for music, theatre, dance, spoken word and film in the new year.
Apply by 31 January 2020.
Visual Art Call For Proposals – Further Details (PDF)
Guidelines on the Call For Proposals (PDF)
David Martin, Creative Director, said: “The visual art programme always makes such a huge impact at the Hidden Door Festival. There’s something about exploring an unfamiliar space and stumbling across a room that has been completely transformed by an artist into a totally unique installation, or coming across a set of incredible paintings or sculptures that you can spend time taking in – that’s what makes the Hidden Door experience so different and so special.
“It’s not just the unexpected discoveries though, it’s the quality and range of work that the artists we work with manage to achieve that makes the experience really stick in your mind long after Hidden Door is finished. We can’t wait to see what artists dream up for this next Hidden Door. There is so much talent in this country that it is always an inspiring part of the process when the applications start coming in. Working with artists is great – they never cease to surprise you!”
Hidden Door is an arts organisation which aims to open up urban spaces as a platform for new and emerging artists, musicians, theatre makers, performers, film makers and poets. Through organising temporary events Hidden Door works to showcase new work and create engaging environments for the public to experience, explore and discover.
Hidden Door has steadily grown in size and reputation since it began in 2014, when it cleared out the abandoned Market Street vaults to run a 9-day arts festival focused on showcasing local creative talent. In 2015 the festival moved to a hidden courtyard behind Kings’ Stables Road, and returned there in 2016, attracting over 12,000 visitors to experience a wealth of art, poetry, theatre, film, dance and music. In 2017 the festival breathed new life into the old Leith Theatre, attracting rave reviews and critical praise for its role in resurrecting “Scotland’s best new live music venue”, winning a Scottish Thistle Award for “Best Cultural Event or Festival”. It returned there in 2018 whilst also opening up the iconic State Cinema around the corner, then following a farewell weekender at Leith Theatre in 2019, organisers are now setting their sights on a mystery new location to bring to life in 2020.
Hidden Door will return in 2020 as a 10-day multi arts festival, taking place 9 – 18 October in an as-yet undisclosed derelict site in Edinburgh.
