The arts organisation infiltrating neglected buildings around Edinburgh and injecting them with life, music, art and festival fun, is back and bigger than ever.

After taking over the Old Royal High School in June this year, Hidden Door organisers have been working hard to secure another disused space in the city to transform into an artistic metropolis for five days in 2023. 

In what organisers are claiming to be their most exciting find to date, next year's festival will officially take place inside the former Scottish Widows complex at 15 Dalkeith Road.

^{Picture: Karen Patel}

Known to locals for its iconic hexagonal shaped roofs, the immense structure was designed by architect John Hardie Glover and first opened in 1976. Its most recent tenants Llyods Banking Group moved out in 2020, leaving the six-acre site empty ever since. 

Creative Director of Hidden Door, David Martin says: 'This is the sort of building I’ve always dreamed about taking over for Hidden Door. It has a sort of ‘Tardis’ quality - although it does look pretty big from the outside, nothing quite prepares you for the expanse of spaces on the inside - you really could get lost in there!

^{Picture: James Duncan}

'Every time we consider an empty building in Edinburgh we ask ourselves what we could do with it, and this one presents us with the opportunity to do something quite different. We will commission a series of projects that will see artists working with musicians, dancers, set designers, lighting artists and sound designers, all creating a series of experiential theatrical environments throughout the building for our audience to discover. We really are aiming for high impact next year!'

^{Picture: Chris Scott}

Hidden Door 2023 will take place from Wednesday 31 May - Sunday 4 June, with the programme announcement due early next year. 

Early release tickets are available now at hiddendoorarts.org/tickets. 

^{Once the full programme is announced, ticket holders will be able to select which days they would like to attend.}