ADMISSION TO FIRSTSITE IS FREE

Open Tuesday – Sunday.

See our opening times

Welcome to Firstsite!

See the world differently – experience the very best art and culture from around the world that inspires, empowers and opens your mind.

Enjoy our exhibitions, workshops, films and events. Relax in our colourful cafe with outdoor seating and find quirky products in our shop.

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ADMISSION TO FIRSTSITE IS FREE

Open Tuesday – Sunday.

See our opening times

What's on

Top picks

Exhibitions

Free

Into Abstraction: Modern British Art and the Landscape

18 October 2025 - 18 January 2026

Discover how some of Britain’s most influential artists, like Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, and L.S. Lowry, used colour, shape, and form to capture feelings, emotions, and experiences during a century of change.

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Courses, Clubs & Classes

Collage Greeting Card Workshop

22 November 2025

Multiple times available

Add a personal touch to your festive greetings with your own handmade, eco-friendly collaged cards with Collage Greeting Card Workshop.

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Exhibitions

Free

Into the Orchard

04 October 2025 - 22 February 2026

Take a walk through the seasons at Crapes Fruit Farm in Essex in this immersive audio-visual exhibition by artists Hana Loftus and Maddie Persent.

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Festive Workshops

Family Card Making

22 November 2025

Multiple times available

Experiment with hand-painting, collage, pop-ups, and tissue paper to make greeting cards just in time for the holidays in Family Card Making!

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Courses, Clubs & Classes

Life Drawing with Justine Moss – all levels

15 November 2025 - 14 February 2026

Multiple times available

Whether you’re a beginner or experienced, gain confidence in drawing the figure, with these tutored life drawing sessions.

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Cinema

Depeche Mode: M

14 November 2025

Multiple times available

Depeche Mode: M is a cinematic journey into the heart of Mexican culture’s relationship with death, framed by iconic performances.

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Exhibitions

Free

Ghafar Tajmohammad: If you throw a stone in the crowd, someone’s going to get hurt

13 September 2025 - 11 January 2026

Explore Ghafar Tajmohammad’s thought-provoking collection of paintings and hand-woven rugs, called kilims, reflecting on conflict, home, and the search for hope and resilience.

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Courses, Clubs & Classes

EcoArt Collage and Craft

13 February 2026

Multiple times available

Join us for our EcoArt Collage and Craft workshop with Clare Sams where creativity meets sustainability in this unique group experience!

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Courses, Clubs & Classes

Urban Sketching and 3D Workshop with Nicola Burrell

13 March 2026

Multiple times available

Join local artist Nicola Burrell for a fun and active full day creative experience in our Urban Sketching and 3D Workshop with Nicola Burrell! 

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Cinema

The Royal Ballet: Cinderella

30 November 2025

2:00 pm

Cinderella’s dreary and dull life changes when she helps a mysterious woman out in The Royal Ballet: Cinderella!

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Courses, Clubs & Classes

How to Paint with Tissue Paper

22 November 2025

10:00 am

Get creative in this hands-on How to Paint with Tissue Paper workshop! Led by Sue Gascoyne discover how to inject colour and tone to your art.

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Festive Workshops

Air Dry Clay Decorations

06 December 2025

Multiple times available

Celebrate the festive season with our Air Dry Clay Decorations, fun and hands-on creative workshop with local clay artist Lizzie Croucher.

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Cinema

National Theatre Live: The Fifth Step

27 - 29 November 2025

Multiple times available

After years in a 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, James becomes a sponsor to newcomer Luka in National Theatre Live: The Fifth Step.

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Courses, Clubs & Classes

Boozy Brushes – Paint Your Pal

22 November 2025

Multiple times available

Join Sirena Hart at Firstsite for Boozy Brushes a multi-art, Drag entertainment painting class extravaganza where you can your pal!

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Cinema

André Rieu’s 2025 Christmas Concert: Merry Christmas

06 - 07 December 2025

Multiple times available

This holiday season, the magic and joyful carols begin on the big screen with André Rieu’s 2025 Christmas Concert: Merry Christmas.

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Cinema

Exhibition on Screen: Caravaggio

15 - 23 November 2025

Multiple times available

Mystery, intrigue, beauty, passion, murder – shine a new light on Caravaggio in this dramatic biography…Exhibition on Screen: Caravaggio

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Courses, Clubs & Classes

Wreath Making

06 December 2024 - 14 December 2025

Multiple times available

Join Firstsite this joyous season for a wreath making session where you will learn how to make an eco-friendly wreath for your front door.

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Cinema

MET Opera Live: La Bohème

08 November 2025

5:45 pm

With its enchanting setting and spellbinding score, the world’s most popular opera is timeless and heartbreaking in MET Opera Live: La Bohème.

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Cinema

Ackroyd & Harvey: The Art of Activism

08 November 2025

Multiple times available

Fiona Cunningham-Reid presents an intimate portrait of internationally acclaimed artists in Ackroyd & Harvey: The Art of Activism.

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Cinema

After The Hunt (Captioned)

25 November 2025

2:00 pm

After the Hunt…A gripping psychological drama about a college professor who finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads.

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Cinema

Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight

12 November 2025

2:00 pm

Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight captures the childhood of 7-year-old Bobo on her family farm in Zimbabwe.

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Cinema

Frankenstein

15 - 20 November 2025

Multiple times available

Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts the classic tale of a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life.

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Cinema

I Swear (Relaxed)

15 November 2025

11:00 am

I Swear is frank, funny and powerful inspired by the life of John Davidson, MBE, and his journey from a misunderstood teenager in 1980’s.

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Cinema

John Cleese Packs It In

16 November 2025

2:00 pm

1 85-year-old Man, 5 Countries, 16 Cities, 23 shows, 6 weeks. Will he make it home … or is this the end of the road? John Cleese Packs It In

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Cinema

One Battle After Another

07 - 13 November 2025

Multiple times available

After 16 years a group of ex-revolutionaries reunites to rescue one of their own’s daughter in One Battle After Another.

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Cinema

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (4K Re-Release)

15 November 2025

2:00 pm

Adapted from Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (4K Re-release) centres on Randle McMurphy (Nicholson).

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Cinema

Pets On A Train (Relaxed)

29 November 2025

11:00 am

When a train unexpectedly starts up, taking only pets with it, the animals make a discovery in Pets on a Train.

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Cinema

Souleymane’s Story

21 - 26 November 2025

Multiple times available

Souleymane’s Story follows Souleymane as he cycles through the streets of Paris delivering food and preparing for an application interview.

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Cinema

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (Captioned)

02 December 2025

2:00 pm

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere follows the artists journey crafting his 1982 album Nebraska. Based on Warren Zanes’ book.

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Cinema

The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker

14 - 27 December 2025

Multiple times available

In The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker, the magician Drosselmeyer needs to save his nephew. Hans-Peter has been transformed into a Nutcracker.

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Festive Workshops

Nutcracker Gingerbread Decorating

14 December 2025

Multiple times available

Bring your gingerbread Nutcracker to life with colourful icing in our Handmade Holidays: Nutcracker Gingerbread Decorating workshop!

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Become a Mosaic Member today!

Enjoy a unlimited free access to our films and a whole host of special offers and generous discounts with a Firstsite Mosaic Membership.

As a treat for yourself – or a gift for someone else – being a Firstsite Mosaic Members provides a year of fantastic benefits, and helps to support art and creativity in East Anglia.

Join today

Explore our online shop

Featuring a range of design-led products and books inspired by our exhibition programme, events and community, our shop has something for everyone. All profits from your purchase raises funds to help us keep our exhibitions free and supports our community outreach activities.

 

Shop online

Make the most of your visit

Latest news

We’re making changes to our cinema prices with new ways to save for our audiences.

29 October 2025

Flexible cinema ticket prices at Firstsite Colchester, with Peak or Off-Peak screenings and discounts for families, students, and groups.

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Social posts

    Welcome area at Firstsite. 'Big Hello' (2018) Peter Liversidge. Photo by Jayne Lloyd.

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