Watch this space later this morning.<\/p>\n
Edinburgh Refugee Festival <\/p>\n
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As part of the Edinburgh Refugee Festival the Mission of Innocents is taking part with \u201cA Life in One Suitcase\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 evocative dance and vocal performance exploring displacement, belonging, and hope.<\/p>\n This is a powerful multimedia event illuminating the emotional and psychological impact of forced migration through music, movement, and visual art.<\/p>\n The centrepiece of the event is a\u00a040\u201345 minute live vocal and dance performance, created and directed by\u00a0Oksana Saiapina, and presented by\u00a0Mission of Innocents. This performance tells the deeply moving story of a person fleeing their home forever\u2014leaving behind family, memories, and identity\u2014captured through the simple but symbolic object of a suitcase.\u00a0Inside is everything most precious. Inside is a life.<\/p>\n The show features performances from:<\/p>\n The performance will be accompanied by three visual exhibitions that offer a broader reflection on memory, identity, and resilience:<\/p>\n This event is presented as part of the\u00a0Edinburgh Refugee Festival 2025, with support from the\u00a0Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain,\u00a0Consulate of Ukraine, and the\u00a0Scottish Parliament\u2019s Cross-Party Group on Ukraine.<\/p>\n The\u00a0dance segment is organised by Mission of Innocents, a grassroots initiative founded by Joyce Landry, supporting refugee children and families in Scotland through the arts and creative mental health programmes. Their work offers displaced young people tools for expression, healing, and self-worth through song, dance, and storytelling.<\/p>\n Former Scottish Widows building is on the market<\/p>\n One of the previous venues for Hidden Door (which takes place later this week) was the Scottish Widows building on Dalkeith Road. Now that there is planning permission in place owners Schroders have put it up for sale. <\/p>\n There is no hint of the asking price, but the consent involves demolishing five of the twelve hexagonal office modules with the remaining office structure being upgraded and extended.\u00a0<\/p>\n Five high quality residential apartment blocks are proposed in the north-east portion of the site, containing 174 homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The agents also say that there is \u201can opportunity to amend existing planning consent to explore alternative uses including Residential, PBSA, Hotel, Education and Leisure\u201d. (PBSA is purpose built student accommodation).<\/p>\n Support Hidden Door Festival <\/p>\n Hazel Johnson Director of Hidden Door Festival has written an open letter to everyone who may just be thinking of attending the festival this week \u2013 they really need your support. <\/p>\n This is the letter here: <\/p>\n Arts venues and cultural events need your support now more than ever: Hazel Johnson, Festival Director at Hidden Door, invites you to be part of something special at The Paper Factory this week<\/strong><\/p>\n Scotland\u2019s arts scene is vibrant, innovative, and utterly vital to our national identity, wellbeing and economy. Yet, like many sectors, it faces unprecedented challenges, from funding pressures to the ever-shifting landscape of audience engagement. Cities like Edinburgh are at their best when they have cultural venues that can thrive all year round, not just in festival season.<\/p>\n This week, we launch our most ambitious venture yet. The Paper Factory is a magnificent, abandoned industrial site which we\u2019re transforming into a vibrant new arts venue hosting an amazing programme of music, visual art and performance. It\u2019s a monumental undertaking, driven by a passionate team of volunteers, and its success hinges, quite simply, on audiences coming along to experience it.<\/p>\n Hidden Door was born from a belief that Edinburgh needs vibrant cultural venues that offer something different. By literally and figuratively opening up forgotten spaces for the arts, we create a place where creative talent can flourish. We exist to provide a vital platform for new and emerging artists in Scotland, offering them the crucial opportunity to experiment and reach new audiences. From our diverse music lineup, including promising local bands selected from hundreds of open call applications, to the captivating, site-specific art installations and immersive performances that bring The Paper Factory\u2019s history to life \u2013 every element of Hidden Door is designed to be unique and unforgettable.<\/p>\n We were fortunate this year to benefit from the Creative Scotland Development Fund \u2013 a fiercely competitive pot of funding. We are also hugely grateful to the sponsors and partners who believe in us enough to generously give their support.<\/p>\n This support has meant we can be as accessible and inclusive as possible. This year we have offered more concessions and free tickets than ever before, including a \u201cpay what you can\u201d option to help us better serve the many different communities across the city.<\/p>\n But the stark truth is that as a volunteer-run charity, we rely on ticket sales. The magic we create, the opportunities we provide for artists, and our ability to keep opening up new, surprising spaces for the arts across our city \u2013 all of it depends on you stepping through our \u2018hidden door\u2019.<\/p>\n Your ticket isn\u2019t just access to a great night out; it\u2019s an investment in Edinburgh\u2019s creative future, a vote of confidence in the artists who are shaping our cultural landscape, and a lifeline that allows us to continue our unique work. Without you, non-profit organisations like Hidden Door simply can\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve all seen much-loved venues and arts organisations forced to close, a worrying trend accelerated by ongoing economic uncertainties. The impact from these external factors on the arts sector is all too real, with arts venues and cultural events needing your support now more than ever.<\/p>\n So I invite you to join us at The Paper Factory this week, from Wednesday to Sunday. Come and discover the energy, witness the innovation, and be part of a truly unique cultural moment. If you want Hidden Door to keep doing what we do, transforming forgotten spaces and championing incredible local talent, then please come down and support us. We\u2019ve been doing this for over a decade, and with you on board, we\u2019ll keep doing it.<\/p>\n Hazel Johnson Festival Director, Hidden Door<\/p>\n https:\/\/hiddendoorarts.org<\/a><\/p>\n Bike Station \u2013 opening this week<\/p>\n The new Bike Station<\/a> hub at Lauriston Place will open on Thursday 12 June. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Bike Station is opening its doors at 141 Lauriston Place this June \u2014 and we\u2019re setting our sights on a cycling future for all generations. From first bikes to lifelong journeys, we\u2019ve spent 20+ years making cycling accessible across Edinburgh, Perth and beyond. Now, our new city-centre hub puts us closer to key infrastructure, communities, and the people who need us most.\u201d<\/p>\n Sales and servicing begin on Thursday with an official opening in July. <\/p>\n\n
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The Paper Factory<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250518-DSC0853320250518.jpg\")
The Paper Factory<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_9718.jpg\")
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