After years of reimagining forgotten spaces across Edinburgh, the arts festival Hidden Door has planted its feet at the Paper Factory in Maybury, and will launch the venue this weekend at a packed party on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 November (tickets are on sale now).

A 15.5-acre site occupied by the former Saica paper and cardboard manufacturing facility on the western edge of Edinburgh, The Paper Factory features a mix of warehouses, factory floors, offices and outhouses.

We paid it a visit while the Door team got set up, and found an expansive space filled with open areas, interlocking rooms and hideaway hubs that call to mind the most memorable Door venues of the past decade. Although we visited while workers were still putting the finishing touches to the site, the rich bones of their plans had already been laid down; an expansive music space with an ample dancefloor, an entrance area that greets punters with a diverse array of art, vast installations that tower over the viewer, and hangout spots for relaxation and conversation. 

Take a look at our video preview of the space below. 

Hazel Johnson, Festival Director of Hidden Door, said, ‘Every new venue we take on presents unique opportunities and challenges, and this vast space is no different. We can’t wait to start work transforming the towering buildings, acres of warehouses and – in true Hidden Door style – all the nooks and crannies into one of our most ambitious arts venues yet.’ 

Acts for the launch party were announced a few months ago, and include London-based singer and producer Paige Kennedy, the veteran electropop singer-songwriter Jane Weaver, Black feminist punks Big Joanie, alt-rock triumvirate HotWax, doom-punk foursome Witch Fever, and Sarah/Shaun, a duo hailing from Edinburgh.

The launch party happening this weekend is the beginning of a bigger plan for the venue, which will be used as a base for the organisation to work with artists on site-specific performance and art, commission new work, establish workshops and studios, and more. It will also play host to a larger, full-scale festival next year (the party will showcase only a fraction of the site, leaving plenty of opportunity for exploration for repeat visitors in 2025). 

Hidden Door Paper Factory Launch Party, Edinburgh, Friday 22 and Saturday 23 November.