Firstsite

Firstsite is among the foremost contemporary art galleries in the East of England and one of Colchester's major cultural destinations. Established in 1994 and, since 2011, housed in an award-winning crescent-shaped building by architect Rafael Viñoly, it stages ambitious exhibitions by artists ranging from the internationally celebrated to the emerging. Its programme has included figures such as Grayson Perry and Lubaina Himid, yet the gallery is just as dedicated to supporting artists from Essex and across the wider region. With no permanent collection to maintain, Firstsite concentrates on changing exhibitions, commissions, film and community work. In 2021 it took the Art Fund Museum of the Year award, the UK's most prestigious museum prize.