The Arts Centre is open seven days a week and events are primarily presented during the three 10-week University terms, except for films, which are shown for 52 weeks of the year. At Christmas the Theatre and Studio are used for family shows. During vacations, particularly Easter and Summer, Warwick Arts Centre acts as a major conference centre for the University’s award winning conference operation. This provides an important source of income for the Arts Centre. Conferences are serviced by Arts Centre technical and front of house staff.

The five main auditoria and visual art spaces (Butterworth Hall, Theatre, Studio Theatre, Cinema and Gallery) present over 2300 events and performances a year of music, drama, dance, mime, comedy, film, visual arts and literature. The programme is further supported by a vigorous strand of education activities participated in by over 87,000 young people annually. The cultural programme ranges from the classical to the experimental across a diversity of cultures with the accent firmly on the contemporary. Audiences are similarly diverse and number over 300,000 visits annually.

As well as presenting a programme drawn from national and international artists and companies, the Arts Centre encourages participation in the practice of a wide range of artforms by students and the local community through the use of its resources, facilities and professional expertise.

The Arts Centre also manages a substantial number of commercial activities, which make use of its various facilities, such as recording, antiques and craft fairs, sales seminars and meetings.