Hidden Door Festival has been running each year since 2014.
It is a volunteer run charity that puts on a yearly 10 day event taking and transforming a derelict or forgotten spaces for a few days. This is an arts festival with gigs at night but an emphasis on visual and performance art, dance and film throughout the day too.
There was no live festival in 2020 but one is planned for September 2021.
In the meantime Hidden Door has put on a regular series of live shows.
https://hiddendoorblog.org/live/
These are live and presented as a show with master of ceremonies introducing live acts, artists talks, panel discussions, locations etc and it is useful to see the progression and what works well.
They are technically advanced broadcasting from multiple sites and sometimes using pre-recorded sessions from venues filmed a few days before. There is the sense of an event with a countdown to the live streaming. Artists have had the chance to respond to the Covid challenge but it is not all about Covid. I particularly enjoy the format of one artist in conversation with another who is showing work. The graphics on the screen try to make it a bit different from another zoom call.
The show has adjusted to the restrictions in place for example orchestra members playing individually spread over 50m or so of the beach at Seafield next to the sewage works.
There was a sense of anticipation and participation involved with David Martin visiting possible future Hidden door venues and reporting back live.
What was amazing was that works were live and current during Covid such as projections on buildings or performances at empty venues but live in our living rooms .
Oana Stanciu Searamics