firstsite Review

Totally transformed! Firstsite is now both a buzzing community hub and contemporary art gallery with just the right balance of challenge, intrigue and interpration.

The staff are very friendly, and the atmosphere is open and welcoming.

It's a nice place for modern art and culture. But I feel that they could do a lot more things inside and make it more interesting.

Beautiful building, rotating free art gallery. Cafe inside with all the normal. Free coat check.

firstsite is an amazing building - very elegant. The present exhibition of Bruce McLean's work is a real winner. He is such an amusing artist and it is well worth listening to his videos. He is a real character. He says he doesn't like being classified as an artist. He is a sculptor - and painter as well. He also makes beautiful pots and his exhibition fills the building and uses it in a really clever way. Don't miss the collages in the cafe. I am honorary President of firstsite so have an interest, but hope I can write this as it is a fascinating exhibition.

Still feels under utilised. Was good for watching a documentary though

I love visiting Firstsite, great building and wonderful staff.

Just seems such a lost opportunity such lovely space and very few exhibits. Cafe very nice ..coffee/teas..light lunches very nice sunlit seating onto 'lawn' food good ..cakes excellent! Nice staff ..open most days ..l think ...excellent loos and hand washing facilities
Very nice visit...but just feel it needs more use ..think they did have language courses...and other academic conferences in the past ..but don't know about any present Cov-d type circumstances maybe halting everything....

Went to see Anthony Gormley exhibition, just a donation instead of an entrance fee, nice coffee shop and gift shop

The calm atmosphere, the social enterprise cafe and the great exhibitions that they have there make this a jewel in the Crown of Colchester culture.

Attended a conference here. First visit, and quite impressed. Nice coffee shop, interesting art gallery, and a superb auditorium space.

I really have no idea what this place is. There was no art there they were apparently showing films but I couldn't say what type maybe documentaries? We tried to find out more but there was no one around to ask. Seems like a massive waste of money to me.

Excellent informative Grayson Perry exhibition and great venue

Attended an art-fair and food event, the venue and public spaces are excellent. Some standing exhibition material was well curated and presented.

A rather large art gallery. The building from the outside looks like a gold cladded version of the operations deck of star trekk's space ship enterprise. The coffee bar sells a decent cup .There use to be WiFi but it's no longer in operation Well worth a visit entry is free.

Not as good as when it opened. It's a shame as it could be a wonderful space.

Great gallery space and mix of exhibitions, especially enjoyed the Grayson Perry exhibition

I am not a fan of art, but i has to give this two stars because of the beautiful building.

Artsy architecture and huge function rooms inside. Went there for Friday prayer as the usual mosque was being repaired.

Visited this new venue when vegan festival was in progress. Facilities are very good but gallery was sparsely populated. Vegan festival was ok but not as much food as I expected.. mainly cosmetics and clothing

Went to go see a movie here and I was very surprised. It's a big building but I never thought the theater there was so big. Not to mention the seats, very comfortable.

Its also got a nice cafe so if you want to meet up with some friends before the film you can do so as well.

I'm hoping to go see a film there again soon it was so nice!

First time I've been to a gallery in years but really enjoyed it. Good range of exhibits!

A really nice place. The building is amazing and the facilities are good. The only downside is the parking.

A big airy place with free exhibitions, not too large, but well curated. I was very interested and saw lots of children. Something for everyone.

If you're looking for free things to do in Colchester then Firstsite is the place to go! The exhibits change frequently throughout the year so there's always something new to see. They often hold other events, especially for kids and also have a small coffee and gift shop. A small donation is asked which is well worth it for the effort that goes into the gallery, highly recommended

Been there, done that, all in about 20 minutes. No desire to return. Colchester is in need of a proper shopping mall. What do they build instead to boost our town's economy?.....well you know where I am going with this!!!!!

Its an acquired taste, I personally like visiting this space. I love the architecture, and theres always something interesting to see. It has a cafe area and a gift shop and this time we visited I was able to buy some handmade vegetarian soap as there were some environmentally friendly stalls in place at reception. There is also large containers full of detergent and other house hold liquids which you can take your own container along to and buy, which is a great idea to cut down on plastic waste and packaging.

Always something new going on, family friendly and educational place.

Honest David's reviews
The biggest waste of money colchester has to offer. We spent millions and millions on this place and no one wanted it.
As such hardly anyone goes there...
I went to see a display type thing and it consisted of one hallway to the right of the building... You couldn't even get in the rest of the place. So what the hell is it so big for?
Maybe I'm missing the point here and there is other things that take place here.... But to be honest I never hear anyone saying anything good is on.
We would have preferred a concert hall that would bring money into the town !!!
Sorry a total waste of tax payers money
2** only

Had a gr8 Tapas night out food a plenty ..nice wine ..good waiter

nice looking building, not the best gallery space though

Brilliant exhibition on Grayson Perry's work on Essex House homage to Our Lady of Essex

Very interesting place to visit. They had Japanese things to do origami,writing and colouring. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth a visit.

Very nice, stumbled upon this whilst out on a Saturday worth a visit and some time spent.

No atmosphere only about 20 people in cinema. Sound quality very poor. No comparison to cineworld. NO parking and dreadful experience with Priory Street car park had to journey round town looking for a parking space then walk through Colchester in the dark, not a good experience at all. Will not be returning. Such a shame.

It's meeting time, wonderfull place, wonderfull people.

Aside from some of the shtick this place gets (a fair portion of it desereved) Firstsite has seemingly endless potential with the community. From free events, workshops for families and all ages, an excellent young artist programe and some of the most down to earth, creative Duty Managers, Gallery Assistants, techs and young people around.

This doesn't mean it's without it's problems but a community willing to engage and communicate with one another is the step forward to it's potential being realised.

A great Art gallery that took a while to come of age, but has become a frequent visit for me, and a beacon for what is good and positive about modern Colchester. Keep up the good work!!

This building seems very under utilised, it could be so much more. The events are not well marketed at all which is a shame because it has so much potential.

Free, informative, good morning spent here. Excellent gift shop with lovely,helpful staff.

Possibly the best thing about Colchester. Always interesting. Great for kids. Good films. Best coffee in Colchester by a country mile.

So calm and peaceful plus the art was amaaazziiinnnggg

How can it be worse than the old bus station I have never seen drunks at firstsite urinating in any hidden corner or used needles laying around people of the town need to improve their memory

Some very good photos by Ed Gold In his Other World's showcase at the moment well worth a look.

Popped in as it was cold in Colchester and fancied a look around. It was pretty quiet as you would expect. The people who work there were mostly sat around looking on their phones and didnt really interact with anyone. The place itself has plenty of exhibits, obviously it wont appeal to everyone for everything but it is interesting and entertaining enough. They ask for a 3 pound donation for entry, which seems fair enough, it's not really big enough to ask or justify more than that.

Fantastic looking building but a rather confused layout inside. The dilapidated old bus park isn't a particularly attractive setting either!

How sad the negativity first site receives. Anything is always going to be better than what is had, the grass is always greener on the other side. Art is of course a personal realm so judgement on what Art is irrelevant to the review. And what tax payers spend their money on is again a biased affair, I'm sure there are worse adventures that our money has gone on that we don't even know about. Firstsite is beautifully architecturally, defeating gravity at points! The cafe was fun and cool and everyone seemed nice. I was there for performance workshops and thought that working in the mosaic space with the sun streaming in was a piece of ingenuity.

Brilliant exhibition space & helpful staff. A nice cafe & friendly service at the back.

There wasn't any special exhibition inside today as LGBT celebration was outsite

Regularly changing interesting range of exhibitions, nice if pricey shop, and good community outreach

Some great stuff and some terribly pretentious tripe - varies with time.

First rate exhibition centre, with ever changing exhibits, well worth a visit

Yesterday there was a Record/CD fair, good bargains. Not much art to see.

Lovely children friendly place and staff, weekend classes for children xxx 5