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arts · Monday 27 July 2026 · Various 
John Hewitt International Summer School - Visual Arts Programme
At Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre · Market Street, Armagh, Co. Armagh, BT61 7BW
At Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre · Market Street, Armagh, Co. Armagh, BT61 7BW
The John Hewitt International Summer School has been bringing writers, artists, and thinkers to Armagh since 1988, and the visual arts strand is one of the quieter pleasures of the week. Running alongside a packed programme of lectures and literary conversations at Market Place Theatre, the exhibitions and artist talk are free to walk into - no ticket required, no pressure to stay for the whole week. It suits anyone passing through Armagh during the school’s six-day run who wants a few hours of good art and honest conversation.
The 2026 visual arts programme includes two exhibitions at Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre. Pádraig Mac Cana shows new work under the title Stone Mirror - paintings that move between external observation and interior experience, memory and event sitting alongside each other on the canvas. Bob Speers’ Thin Place takes its name from the Celtic idea of a permeable boundary between the visible world and what lies beyond it, a theme that runs through the work itself.
The artist talk for 2026 is “F. E. McWilliam: An Inventor Of Styles”, delivered by gallery curator Jason Diamond. McWilliam was one of the most significant Irish sculptors of the twentieth century, and this talk is a good entry point whether you know his work well or are coming to it fresh.
The exhibitions run across the full six days of the Summer School, 27 July to 1 August. The broader programme - readings, panel discussions, lectures - requires tickets and may sell out, but the visual arts exhibitions are free to view during the run.
Armagh city sits roughly 40 kilometres south-west of Belfast and about 130 kilometres north of Dublin. The most direct route from Belfast is the A1 and then the A28, a journey of around 45 minutes by car. From Dublin, take the M1 motorway north, exit near Newry, and follow the A28 into Armagh - around 90 minutes in normal traffic.
Translink Ulsterbus runs regular services into Armagh from Belfast Europa Bus Centre, Newry, and Dungannon. Market Place Theatre is on Market Street in the city centre, a short walk from the bus station on Lonsdale Road. Street parking is available nearby, and there are pay-and-display car parks within easy walking distance.
Armagh is a small city with a lot packed into it - two cathedrals on facing hills, the Armagh County Museum, the Georgian Mall, and the Planetarium. The Summer School itself creates a particular atmosphere in the city during the last days of July, with readings and events spilling into the evenings. There is more to see in Armagh and across Co. Armagh.
Heading to Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre in Armagh? Armagh has plenty more to see. Read the Armagh area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.