Our new opening hours from Thursday 1 June 2023

Thursday         10am – 10pm

Friday              10am – 10pm

Saturday          10am – 10pm

Sunday            10am – 5pm

Monday           Closed

Tuesday           10am – 5pm

Wednesday     10am – 5pm

Why are Firstsite’s hours changing?

Our community is central to everything we do at Firstsite. We are always keen to learn how we can make our art gallery work creatively to make a brilliant environment for lots of different people to come together get creative.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that more than ever, people want to come together and have fun. To experience new ideas, be creative, relax and focus on wellbeing. Underlying this is a need to make time to think differently about the future. To do this we need inspiration and creative space.

Our exhibitions and our extra-ordinary building, which is a living sculpture, offer inclusive spaces to explore your creativity, connect with others, have the opportunity to be inspired and feel the benefits of making and experiencing art.

We have actively listened to the requirements and wishes of our visitors through surveys and focus groups, and opening Firstsite fully in the evenings has become a popular request.  And our Late Night Firstsite events last November demonstrated this enthusiasm and appetite for an inclusive and fun space to spend time in the evenings.

Changing our opening hours helps ensure we are utilising our funding in the most efficient way, and it supports us to be better able to meet our charitable and artistic aims.

Our new opening hours increase the amount of time our visitors can explore Firstsite by more than 30%, and especially help people who work during day to visit us.

We understand this will be a change for some of our visitors, but these new opening hours will allow even more people to enjoy what we do for many years to come.

This change will also help us to grow sustainable new streams of income to support our free activities like keeping our exhibitions free and offering free family activities – such as Holiday Fun which provides free days out for families facing economic challenges.

Plus, when attending evening screenings or events on Thursday-Saturday there will be so much more on offer to enjoy – from our exhibitions and tours to tasty meals in the café and live evening entertainment. Together we can create a vibrant evening venue where everyone is welcome and empowered to explore their creativity.

Tell us your thoughts

As ever we want to hear from you so, please send your questions or thoughts to us at [email protected].

We thank you for your support and look forward to welcoming you to Firstsite soon.

 

Find out what's coming up at Firstsite