The abandoned Scottish factory being transformed into a 'unique multi-artform experience' using rusted pipes

Rusted pipes and defunct machines will be used to create art in the Edinburgh building

An abandoned industrial site that formerly housed a paper and cardboard factory is to be transformed into a “unique multi-artform experience” inspired by the venue.

The Paper Factory - a vast complex of forgotten warehouses, factory floors, offices and outbuildings - is to be used as a base for this year’s Hidden Door festival in Edinburgh.

The 15.5-acre site in Edinburgh’s Maybury Quarter, previously occupied by the former Saica paper and cardboard manufacturing facility, features a mix of warehouses, factory floors, offices and outhouses. The location has inspired a programme created around the theme of “Building as a Myth”, with every rusted pipe, defunct machine and weathered surface becoming part of an artistic reclamation.

From the cavernous Crane Shed and the labyrinthine Factory Floor venues within the building, to transforming the mundanity of The Office Block, more than 30 visual artists will show a range of work, including large sculptural installations, wall-based work, projection and textiles, curated amongst the defunct machinery and spaces.

Art will be projected onto the walls of the abandoned factory. | Hidden Door

Running from June 11 to 15, the festival brings together the talents of more than 100 creatives to offer live music, immersive art installations, dance performances, poetry and spoken word.

Meanwhile, Ghost in the Machine is a site-responsive performance developed by Jill Martin Boualaxai, exploring memory, transformation and industrial folklore through movement, drawing and sculptural installation. The piece blends physical theatre, dance, visual art and costume, evolving over time into performance drawings and sculptural traces designed to blur the boundaries between ritual, history, and the factory’s own mythology.

Film work created by Abby Warlow and Lewis Gourlay will be projected across the factory’s vast walls to bring moving image and cinematic storytelling to the Paper Factory.

Previous Hidden Door festivals have been held at venues such as the Granton Gasworks in north Edinburgh and the old Leith Theatre. | Hidden Door

Hazel Johnson, festival director of Hidden Door, said: “Since November’s venue launch party, we’ve been busy clearing more of the vast industrial site and getting ready to fill every corner with our most ambitious programme yet.

“We exist to support the creative community and to connect audiences with emerging artists, and The Paper Factory will be at the heart of that ambition in 2025.”

Following Saica’s relocation to a purpose-built facility in Livingston, regeneration specialists Summix Capital are now developing long-term proposals for the future of the site and have offered Hidden Door access until the end of 2025.