21.72°C The first Late-Night Firstsite takes place on Wednesday 16th November with mix of cinema, live music, local artist exhibitions, food and drink, artisan workshops, free family making sessions and late-night Christmas shopping.
On the day Firstsite will be the destination for the finale of Colchester’s Festive Light Parade.You can follow the parade at 4pm from the Mercury Theatre and watch as the city centre is illuminated with Christmas lights along the route, before arriving at Firstsite at 6pm.
There will be free fairground Carousel rides from 4pm outside the front of the building.
Sample the pop-up outdoor bar’s hot drinks and delicious artisan hot dogs including hand made vegan sausages by Café Saison’s Hannah Chapman.
Take part in the free drop-in art activity – Glowing Cardboard Houses – suitable for all ages with local artist Nicola Burrell from 5pm-7pm.
You can make your own scented candle to take home during a fun, relaxing two-hour workshop guiding. Suitable for ages 16 and over the workshops take place at 4pm and 7pm. (Limited spaces, booking essential).
There are Exhibition Tours on the night too. Mehdi Jalalaghdamian: Art In Exile at 5:45pm & 7:30pm, and Denis Wirth-Miller: Landscapes and Beasts at 6:30pm & 8:15pm. For Art In Exile join Iranian rug maker Mehdi Jalalaghdamian and Head of Programme Stuart Tulloch for a tour of this moving exhibition which explores the challenges and influences underpinning the global migration crisis.
For Landscapes and Beasts explore over a hundred artworks by Wirth-Miller, as well as works by Francis Bacon and Wirth-Miller’s partner Richard ‘Dicky’ Chopping in this guided tour with Firstsite’s Head of Programme.
Exhibition Activities take place throughout the day. From 10am you can make and decorate a lantern house to bring awareness and visibility to the ongoing challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers. From 4pm onwards you can illuminate your lantern house with a tealight and add it to the display at Firstsite to create a glowing artwork. Distanced Assemblage: Imagine Lantern House is free and is suitable for ages 4 and over.
Watch a live cinema event at 7:15pm when The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration (Live) is shown. The Royal Ballet’s dazzling Principals lead an evening not to be missed, their sparkling talents a perfect fit for a diamond anniversary.
Last but not least, enjoy live Setar performances throughout the evening by Colchester-based Iranian musician, Morteza Shirzad. Playing a selection of pieces from great Iranian composers such as Maestros Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh, Morteza will perform in various modes of Persian classical music.
For further information visit https://firstsite.uk/event/late-night-firstsite-with-christmas-in-colchester/
