Firstsite

• Camulodunum - artists including Ai Weiwei, Subodh Gupta, Barbara Hepworth, Sarah Lucas, Aleksandra Mir, Henry Moore, Grayson Perry, Robert Smithson, J. M. W. Turner, Andy Warhol, Rebecca Warren and Bill Woodrow
• Culpable Earth – Steven Claydon
• Equivalents – Carl Andre, John Constable
• News from Nowhere - artists including Lynda Benglis, Lygia Clark, Richard Deacon (sculptor), Naum Gabo, Isa Genzken, Roger Hiorns, Nam June Paik, László Moholy-Nagy, John McCracken, Mark Titchner and Paul Thek
• Sorry I'm Late – Anthea Hamilton
• Painting, Collage, Film – Humphrey Jennings
• Hammer Prints Limited 1954 - 1975 – Nigel Henderson & Eduardo Paolozzi
• The Sea (Paintings of the North Norfolk Coast) – John Virtue[9]
• Assembled Paintings and Drawings – Chris Seaber[10][11]
• The Firstsite Open Art Exhibition – Local Art Open Exhibition 2015[12][13]
• Wood to Water – James Dodds[14]
• 70 Years of Colchester Art Society - artists include Cedric Morris, John Nash (artist), Simon Carter and Valerie Thornton.[15][16][17]
• Introspective – Gee Vaucher[18]
• Ed Gold: Other Worlds – Ed Gold, June–September 2017[19][20]
• Grayson Perry: The Life of Julie Cope – Grayson Perry, January–February 2018.[21][22]
• Power for the People – Rose Finn-Kelcey, December 2017 - March 2018[23]

The gallery's opening received a considerable evaluation in the press. The Guardian criticized the sloping walls and the architect, Viñoly.[24] It also examined it in terms of the economic expectations towards it and in comparison with other regional galleries.[25] However, The Independent praised the inaugural exhibition Camulodunum.[26] The Daily Telegraph has criticized the expense of the project,[27] which cost £25,542,701 to build,[28] and also highlighted concerns that more than half of its 147,000 annual visitors only entered to use the lavatory.[29] In 2015 Firstsite had its status as an Arts Council funded National Portfolio Organisation withdrawn.[30][31] The Arts Council consequently reduced their annual subsidy to Firstsite by £10 per year from £814,527 to £814,517.[32]

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.[33] On 22 March 2018 it was announced Dr Noorzaman Rashid, Robert Surnam and Helen Organ resigned from their roles as trustees at Firstsite.[34][35][36]

• Official website
• Colchester Borough Council webpage