Visual Art Student Call for Proposals

Visual Art Student Call for Proposals

Hidden Door is looking for a number of talented art students to submit a project or body of work for Hidden Door 2020. 

Visual artists currently studying in Scottish arts institutions are invited to apply to participate in the 10 day multi-arts festival which will take place from the 9 – 18 October 2020. The event will be housed within an as-yet undisclosed derelict site in Edinburgh, transforming the venue into performance, exhibition and installation spaces for visual and performing arts.

We are looking for a range of innovative projects across a variety of artistic disciplines from painting to performance, sculpture to photography. Work submitted can be either an existing project or a piece specifically developed for the festival.

This strand of the Visual Art programme is a unique opportunity for students to engage with a wider audience and to consider their practice and methods of presentation within a multi arts environment.  

Selected artists will have support from the Hidden Door team from initial application to final exhibition and there will be ample opportunity for meet ups with other creatives in the programme encouraging engagement with one another’s practice in a supportive and constructive environment. 

Opening Doors

By stimulating the public’s interest in the potential of disused spaces we create 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 whilst providing a supportive community for collaboration and individual development. 

Edinburgh has many well-established ways of participating in and engaging with culture, but Hidden Door aims to open up new space for the arts, to provide much-needed opportunities for young and ambitious talent to develop, expanding projects and careers and etching their names into the cultural landscape of Scotland. 

If you have any questions, please contact HDVisualart2020@gmail.com.

Further details and application form

Deadline for Proposals – 6th April 2020, 11.59pm 

Download the Visual Art Students Call for Entries Guidance (PDF)

When you’re ready to apply, complete this online form.

More about Hidden Door

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.