With a name like Camulodunum, Firstsite’s opening exhibition was always going to reference the past.

And why not? After all, the past is Colchester’s biggest selling point and an area, one could argue, we’ve never been that good at shouting about.

Well, we’ve certainly got something to shout about now – a beautiful, brash, golden triumphant building, which makes reference to the past, but also contains works by some of the world’s greatest contemporary artists.

In this respect, Camulodunum is a reflection of the building itself.

Works such as Bill Woodrow’s Car Door, Boot and Wing with Roman Helmet, Henry Moore’s Helmet Heads and Robert Smithson’s Chalk Mirror Displacement have their roots in archaeology.

But it’s not all modern. Other pieces, which perhaps lend themselves more to a museum than an art gallery, include posters of the Colchester Pageant of 1909 and photographs of Edwardian Colchester by John Benjamin Stone.

I suspect this will not be the norm and that the more modern works, such as the stunning Two Cows by Subodh Gupta and sections of Danh Vo’s project to recreate the Statue of Liberty, will be the kind of “art” that visitors can expect in the future.

What will remain is the Berryfield Mosaic, which looks resplendent in its new, permanent, glass-floored case, and a regular exhibition of works by the newly-named Essex Collection of Art from Latin America.

A different selection from the University of Essex’s world-renowned collection of modern Latin American art will be showcased alongside each new exhibition in the main gallery, with the first being examples of printmaking from Brazil, Paraguay and Chile.

In the same area, there is a commissioned work by Colchester artist Sarah Sabin, which looks at the mineral make-up of the new building, and works by artists on the MA contemporary art and professional practice course at Colchester Institute, who have used the missing section of the Berryfield Mosaic as their inspiration.

While it’s thrilling to have hugely important world-class art works on display, it’s good to see Firstsite is not ignoring its roots.

An opportunity to exhibit next to the likes of Warhol, Moore and Hepworth will be deeply inspiring to many local artists.

But it is the opportunity to see works by those kind of world-class artists which will bring in the crowds.

My favourite of these in Camulodunum is Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup II.

And what has Andy Warhol got to do with Colchester you may ask? Well, I’ll save that in-joke for you to discover.

Neil D’Arcy-Jones