On Friday 22 and Saturday 23 November we opened up our huge new venue – The Paper Factory – for a special launch party.

The massive 15.5-acre site, occupied by the former Saica paper and cardboard manufacturing facility, features a mix of warehouses, factory floors, offices and outhouses.

With plans to hold a full-scale arts festival there in spring 2025, we decided the space was too good not to have a launch party!

Here’s a little photo diary of the event – images courtesy of Chris Scott, Dan Mosley, Karen Patel and Stevie Powers.

Audiences were invited to enter through the large doorway, decorated with a stunning mural by Trench One that paid tribute to the feathered residents found in certain areas of the site.

Once inside, the huge factory spaces opened up, including one vast area filled with machinery and walkways. In here, lighting designer Tom Sulat collaborated with Dave Kitschker to present a unique experience, where audiences could interact with a console to control over 30 lights filling the vast room.

Both evenings also saw this beautifully lit space taken over by the legendary Sativa Drummers – a mainstay of the city’s thriving club scene in the 90s and early 2000s – performing a thundering piece which reanimated the abandoned, dusty machinery, giving the space a heartbeat once again.

Elsewhere throughout the huge space, the work of over 20 artists offered a diverse range of media and artforms to be discovered, including sculpture, projection, installation, painting, printmaking and large-scale works.

The huge space and high ceilings meant that many of our artists were able to get creative on an industrial scale, presenting massive installations that filled the room.

An eclectic live music programme provided the soundtrack to our party.

Friday night saw experimental electronica from Exterior, the heartfelt alt-pop of Paige Kennedy, post-punk edginess from Trout and the ever-evolving avant-electropop of Jane Weaver.

Saturday night welcomed Black feminist punk band Big Joanie co-headlining with alt rock trio HotWax, with support from punk-pop trio Brenda and dream-pop duo Sarah/Shaun.

Between the live performances, we were delighted to stage another collaborative project, with lighting designer Sam Jones and dance-theatre maker Tess Letham presenting a stunning dance and visual experience, set to a track by Midi Paul.

The live performances helped to keep the crowd moving, which was essential on what turned out to be two extremely chilly nights!

We awoke on Saturday morning to a very wintery scene, and within the hour we had volunteers on site, removing the snow and preparing the site for opening.

Our street food trucks – courtesy of Fat Flamingo and Chicken Skoop – proved very popular, as did the hot drinks from Brew 52.

Our bars served all the usual fare, kindly sponsored by Bellfield Brewery and Jack Daniel’s. We even had a large pot of mulled wine for those wanting a warm option.

There was also the opportunity to take home a little keepsake via our art shop, further helping to support our artists.

The event wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible work of our volunteer team and as well as our crew, collaborators, partners and supporters. Thank you everyone!

And of course, thank you to everyone who braved the cold to come along and support us.

“It was only a taster session…” said David Pollock in his 4-star Scotsman review, “but it was more than enough to get excited about next year’s main course.”

We couldn’t agree more!

Stay tuned for more about our 2025 plans coming soon.

Hidden Door is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Our November venue launch party is kindly sponsored by Bellfield Brewery, Jack Daniel’s and DirectControl UK.