This event is part of SHBT’s Challenging Conservation 24/25 lecture series.

What happens when conservation is only for the time being? A ‘meanwhile use’ for a historic building can last for a weekend, a year, or – in some cases – a decade. What do these interventions look like, and what is their impact on the life of the buildings they occupy?

Hidden Door arts festival transforms Edinburgh’s disused and overlooked spaces into venues for sharing inspiring music, theatre, visual art, film, dance, spoken word, and more. In their 10th birthday year, Festival Director Hazel Johnson looks back at some of the incredible buildings they have opened up to the public – on a temporary basis – from the Market Street vaults, to the old Royal High School and Granton Gasworks.

Lynzi Leroy is founder and CEO of social enterprise Scottish Design Exchange, whose most recent retail location is the Tron Kirk Market on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. As a ‘meanwhile user’ of this Category A-listed building, Lynzi will explore what’s involved in bringing the work of Scottish artists and makers into one of the most significant historic buildings on Edinburgh’s High Street.