Warwick Arts Centre is celebrating the launch of its autumn/winter 2022 season with the very first Warwick Arts Weekender.

Running from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 October 2022, the four-day event will feature ground-breaking international performances, creative workshops, music, and more - with the majority of the activities free of charge.

Rising Warwickshire songstress Ellie Gowers, new work by Coventry composer Derek Nisbet for the London Sinfonietta, and local spoken word/rap artist John Bernard will get things off to a start with free performances on Thursday (from 6pm).

Friday takes the theme Try Something New! with free drop-in textiles, poetry and printmaking workshops (11am-4pm), and Mini Creatives B'Opera First Songs sessions, which introduce ages 0-4 to rhythm, movement and singing.

The evening sees the launch of Jazz Friday's in Benugo's Bar and Kitchen featuring free weekly jazz from The Moloney Trio.

Use Your Voice! is Saturday's theme, with beatboxing workshops from Jasmine Gardosi and performances from Black Voices, Gospel Revisited and John Bernard.

Finally, Sunday focuses on Family Fun! with even more free art, craft and music workshops.

Meanwhile, running through the weekend is Stan's Cafe's moving Of All The People In All The World (Oct 4-9), for which vast numerical facts are reduced to visually manageable piles of rice, and Radical Landscapes (Oct 7-Dec 18), a bold new exhibition exploring a century of British landscape art in collaboration with Tate Liverpool.

The long weekend also sees ticketed appearances from Powerpoint comic Dave Gorman and the UK premiere of Rewards For The Tribe, by leading Australian dance companies Chunky Move and Restless Dance (Thu); the renowned Aurora Orchestra, and comedian Jessica Fostekew (Fri); Kill The Cat (Sat/Sun), who attempt to get us to TALK to each other again; toooB, an interactive sensory adventure for from ages 6 months to two years; and writer Bernardine Evaristo (Sun).

Doreen Foster, Warwick Arts Centre's director, said: "The Weekender is more than a great programme of live events; it's about creating an open house, where everyone feels welcome and everyone leaves with great memories.

"This is our first season where all our brilliant spaces are fully open from the start, and we can't wait to welcome everyone in to enjoy radical art, inspiring music and creative workshops with amazing artists."

For full listings, click here.