Today we can announce the venue for our 10th birthday party event – transforming the Level B3 car park at St James Quarter in Edinburgh’s city centre.

2024 marks a decade since Hidden Door opened up the Market Street vaults for its first week-long festival. To celebrate, we are planning a birthday party at an underground venue never before used for an event like this.

Basement 3 at St James Quarter will host an ambitious programme of music, visual art and performance planned across two nights.

Hazel Johnson, Festival Director of Hidden Door, said: “B3 is unlike any other space that has played host to a Hidden Door event and we can’t wait to reveal its transformation in May. This vast basement car park has plenty of room to play with; we’ll be making the most of the wide open floorplan, whilst creating nooks and crannies amongst the pillars for people to explore the art installations and projections.“

Susan Hewlett, Brand and Marketing director at St James Quarter, said: “We’re really excited to work with Hidden Door and host their 10th anniversary party, bringing life, music and art into this unexpected space. We have already hosted Edinburgh College of Art’s Graduate Fashion Show as well as a ‘Deaf Rave’ in B3 but to now optimise this vast space which has incredible acoustics, with one of the biggest arts organisations in the city is amazing.

“Everything we do at St James Quarter is woven into the city’s culture, celebrating its rich heritage. We can’t wait to welcome event-goers to what will be a really special showcase of music and arts in one of the most creative cities, under a destination that’s redefining retail as a new lifestyle quarter.”

To help with the transformation, Hidden Door is partnering with Edinburgh Tool Library, who are also celebrating their 10th anniversary year. Their volunteers will team up with Hidden Door volunteers to create a custom bar for the event, whilst other aspects of the build will be supported by members of their Making With Pride initiative, in partnership with LGBT Health & Wellbeing.

The venue is fully accessible with lift access down to Basement 3, and spacious enough for audiences to explore the artwork and grab a drink at one of our pop-up bars before hitting the dancefloor for the music and performances.  It is a five minute walk from both Waverley Train Station and Edinburgh Bus station.

For the event, Hidden Door is partnering with some of the city’s finest creative forces to curate a spectacular and immersive multi-art experience.

We’ve invited synth-pop duo Maranta to help curate both evenings, with unique collaborations built around their multisensory live show Microsteria. Over two nights, they will be joined by record label Paradise Palms Records (Friday 10th May) and radio station EHFM (Saturday 11th May) to bring an uplifting roster of music acts and DJs, accompanied by live performances and stunning visuals, alongside an exhibition of work by 18 visual artists and several other surprises.

Free entry on Saturday daytime

As with every Hidden Door event, there will be an opportunity for the public to explore for free. Between 1-5pm on Saturday 11 May, our venue will be open to all, offering access to our visual art and installations, with our pop-up bars serving a range of refreshments, sponsored by Bellfield Brewery.

Looking ahead to the event, Hazel Johnson added: “Hidden Door’s 10th birthday event is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the past decade of festivals, collaborations, community and creative innovation – and what better way to do that than by opening up another of Edinburgh’s fascinating spaces and filling it with art, music and performance! 

“We can’t wait to welcome you to our birthday bash, to celebrate what has been – and what is yet still to come!”

Tickets are now available at hiddendoorarts.org/tickets.

Film by Robbie Crawford / Odd Fox Production. Music: Maranta
Photos by Dan Mosley and Chris Scott