Warwick Arts Centre

Warwick Arts Centre stands on the campus of the University of Warwick in Coventry. It is the largest arts complex in the Midlands and the biggest of its kind in the UK outside London. Every year around 300,000 people come to more than 3,000 events covering theatre, music, dance, comedy, art, film and talks. The centre grew from an idea by the university’s first vice-chancellor Jack Butterworth and an anonymous American donor later named as Helen Martin. Designed by Renton, Howard, Wood Associates, it opened in 1974 and won a RIBA award. The building contains a 1,500-seat concert hall, a theatre, three cinemas, an art gallery, a studio theatre, rehearsal rooms and conference spaces. A four-year redevelopment finished in 2021 added a new foyer, three extra cinemas and a restaurant. The Mead Gallery, the region’s largest space for contemporary art, reopened in 2022 with a floor area of 6,458 square feet. Outside, the Sculpture Park includes works by Liliane Lijn, Richard Deacon, Peter Randall-Page and others. Inside, visitors find Butterworth Hall for orchestral concerts, a flexible theatre for plays and dance, and small studios for rehearsals. The Mead Gallery shows changing exhibitions of modern art and sculpture. The Koan, a rotating conical sculpture by Liliane Lijn, stands in the open space outside. Films, talks and family events run throughout the year. Artists and performers who have appeared here include Terry Pratchett, Jeremy Irons, Jimmy Carr, Hugh Laurie, Ken Loach and Russell Brand.