Firstsite

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Contemporary art gallery in Colchester, Essex, England

title: "Firstsite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["art-museums-and-galleries-established-in-2011", "arts-centres-in-england", "contemporary-art-galleries-in-england", "buildings-and-structures-in-colchester-(town)", "2011-establishments-in-england", "art-museums-and-galleries-in-essex", "charities-based-in-england"] description: "Contemporary art gallery in Colchester, Essex, England" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firstsite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Contemporary art gallery in Colchester, Essex, England ::

::data[format=table title="infobox museum"]

FieldValue
nameFirstsite
imageFirstsite art gallery in Colchester.jpg
captionFirstsite art gallery in Colchester
established2011
map_typeEssex
map_captionLocation within Essex
coordinates
locationColchester, Essex, England
directorSally Shaw
website
::

|name = Firstsite |image = Firstsite art gallery in Colchester.jpg |caption = Firstsite art gallery in Colchester |image_size = |established = 2011 |map_type = Essex |map_caption = Location within Essex |map_alt = |coordinates = |location = Colchester, Essex, England |director = Sally Shaw |website = |network = Firstsite is a visual arts organisation based in Colchester, Essex, which opened in 1993 as Colchester and District Visual Arts Trust, changing its name to Firstsite in 1995. Its current building was opened in 2011. It was the national Art Fund's Museum of the Year in 2021. The building Firstsite occupies as a tenant was designed by Rafael Viñoly and the freehold is retained by Colchester Council. The building is situated in Colchester's "Cultural Quarter" near The Minories, Colchester, fifteen Queen Street (a creative business hub), the Norman Colchester Castle, the Natural History Museum, Hollytrees Museum and Colchester's Roman Wall.

Its exhibits are on a rolling six-monthly basis, starting with Camulodunum. It cooperated with Essex University to show South American art until 2013. Firstsite has no permanent art collection of its own.

It was awarded the national Art Fund Museum of the Year prize in 2021. Firstsite is a registered charity under English law.

Exhibitions

Critical appraisal

The gallery's opening received a considerable evaluation in the press. The Guardian criticized the sloping walls and the architect, Viñoly. It also examined it in terms of the economic expectations towards it and in comparison with other regional galleries. However, The Independent praised the inaugural exhibition Camulodunum. The Daily Telegraph has criticized the expense of the project, which cost £25,542,701 to build, and also highlighted concerns that more than half of its 147,000 annual visitors only entered to use the lavatory. In 2015 Firstsite had its status as an Arts Council funded National Portfolio Organisation withdrawn. The Arts Council consequently reduced their annual subsidy to Firstsite by £10 per year from £814,527 to £814,517.

In February 2018 it was announced that Firstsite had returned to Arts Council 'National Portfolio Organisation' status despite having only recorded 131,663 visitors in the previous year and having made a loss of £243,000. The return to 'National Portfolio Organisation' status for Firstsite saw an increase in funding of £5 per year, to £814,512 per year, secured for four years.{{cite web|url= http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/15982499.Firstsite_has_finally_turned_the_corner____despite___243k_loss_last_year/ |title= Firstsite has finally turned the corner... despite £243k loss last year |publisher= www.gazette-news.co.uk |date=2018-02-09 |access-date=2018-02-13}} On 22 March 2018 it was announced Dr Noorzaman Rashid, Robert Surnam and Helen Organ resigned from their roles as trustees at Firstsite.

In 2021, Ai Weiwei was invited to submit a piece for the virtual UK art exhibition The Great Big Art Exhibition, which was organised by Firstsite. Ai's piece, called Postcard for Political Prisoners, incorporated a photograph of the running machine used by Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy. After initially accepting Ai's idea, Firstsite's director said that it could not include his project "due to time constraints, and because it did not fit with the concept of the exhibition". Ai said he thought the reason for the rejection was that the exhibition did not "want to touch on a topic like Assange".

References

References

  1. "Our History".
  2. (2011-12-09). "firstsite". Firstsite.
  3. (2021-09-21). "Firstsite in Colchester wins the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021 award". [[BBC]].
  4. (2018-01-01). "firstsite". Colchester Borough Council.
  5. (2011-12-09). "firstsite". Firstsite.
  6. (2014). "University of Essex to rehouse its Latin American collection". artinternet.net.
  7. "Works on Display". ESCALA University of Essex.
  8. (2011-12-09). "firstsite". Firstsite.
  9. (2018-01-01). "firstsite". Art Fund.
  10. {{EW charity. 1031800. Firstsite Limited
  11. "Camulodunum".
  12. "Aleksandra Mir - Camulodunum, Firstsite, Colchester".
  13. "Steven Claydon : Culpable Earth".
  14. "News from Nowhere - Exhibition at Firstsite in Colchester".
  15. "Anthea Hamilton: Sorry I'm Late - Exhibition at Firstsite in Colchester".
  16. "Humphrey Jennings: Painting, Collage, Film - Exhibition at Firstsite in Colchester".
  17. "Nigel Henderson and Eduardo Paolozzi: Hammer Prints Limited 1954- 75 - Exhibition at Firstsite in Colchester".
  18. (2015-06-09). "John Virtue: The Sea". Art Rabbit.
  19. (2015-09-06). "Chris Seaber – Assembled Paintings and Drawings". Keep Colchester Cool.
  20. (2015-09-01). "Chris Seaber – Assembled Paintings and Drawings". Art Rabbit.
  21. (2015-09-25). "First Open Art Exhibition". Colchester Gazette.
  22. (2015-07-23). "Firstsite Open Exhibition". ENAS.
  23. (2015-12-10). "Wivenhoe artist James Dodds back at Firstsite Art Gallery". Colchester Gazette.
  24. "James Dodds - Wood to Water - Exhibition at Firstsite in Colchester".
  25. (2016-06-28). "70 Years of Colchester Art Society". Art Rabbit.
  26. (2016-06-28). "Simon Carter CV". Simon Carter website.
  27. (2016-06-28). "Colchester Art Society, an Exhibition Celebrating 70 Years of Discovery". Line Up.
  28. "[http://www.firstsite.uk/whats-on/gee-vaucher-introspective/ Gee Vaucher: Introspective] {{Webarchive. link. (2 January 2017 ", Firstsite. Accessed 22 July 2017)
  29. Gosling, Emily. (2017-06-19). "Ed Gold's fascinating and beautifully shot depictions of rural Essex life".
  30. (2017-06-16). "Photographs reveal quirky world of Country Folk".
  31. "Lubaina Himid: Warp and Weft {{!}} What's On".
  32. "Grayson Perry: The Life of Julie Cope".
  33. Mark Edwards "[http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/tapestry-of-essex-everywoman-s-life-caught-at-grayson-perry-s-firstsite-show-1-5318579 Tapestry of Essex Everywoman’s life caught at Grayson Perry’s Firstsite show] {{Webarchive. link. (9 January 2018 ", [[Ipswich Star]], 12 December 2017. Accessed 9 January 2018)
  34. (2017-12-02). "Rose Finn-Kelcey: Power for the People". Visit Colchester.
  35. "Life with Art: Benton End and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing".
  36. "Life with Art".
  37. "Denis Wirth-Miller: Landscapes and Beasts".
  38. "Reena Saini Kallat: Leaking Lines".
  39. Rowan Moore. (2011-09-18). "Firstsite – review | Art and design". [[The Observer]].
  40. Maev Kennedy. (2011-09-22). "Colchester's Firstsite for sore eyes | Art and design". [[The Guardian]].
  41. McLean, Laura. (2011-10-21). "Camulodunum, Firstsite, Colchester - Reviews - Art". [[The Independent]].
  42. Art. (2011-10-14). "firstsite gallery, Colchester: £25 million well-spent?". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  43. (2014-02-14). "Firstsite gallery only used by people to spend a penny". www.telegraph.co.uk.
  44. (2015-02-15). "Firstsite in Funding Crisis". Colchester Gazette.
  45. (2015-02-16). "Firstsite to Lose Arts Council England NPO Status". Artists Newsletter.
  46. (2015-02-15). "Firstsite Gallery Lose National Portfolio Status". www.artsprofessional.co.uk.
  47. (2018-03-22). "Firstsite boss 'had to go' as questions continue to linger over £100k payments". Chelmsford and Mid Essex Times.
  48. (2018-03-23). "Questions over £100k payments to HR firm". Colchester Gazette.
  49. (2018-03-22). "Firstsite trustees resign as company instructs auditors". Jumbo News.
  50. (2 June 2021). "Ai Weiwei accuses curators of rejecting artwork over Julian Assange content". The Guardian.

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art-museums-and-galleries-established-in-2011arts-centres-in-englandcontemporary-art-galleries-in-englandbuildings-and-structures-in-colchester-(town)2011-establishments-in-englandart-museums-and-galleries-in-essexcharities-based-in-england