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arts · Friday 24 July 2026 · Various 
Vikkie Patterson - Oil Paintings Exhibition
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
A rare chance to see a body of work by one of Northern Ireland’s more compelling painters, this free exhibition at the Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre runs through the summer months - the kind of show you can drop into on a quiet afternoon without any prior knowledge of contemporary art and still find yourself stopping in front of a canvas longer than you expected.
Vikkie Patterson is a painter and PhD researcher at Ulster University Belfast School of Art whose work takes in the physical and emotional weight of living through upheaval. Her oil paintings draw on close observation of landscape - both the external world and the interior kind - and she has exhibited widely across Northern Ireland in recent years. She works with oil on canvas and sometimes on recycled coffee sackcloth, applying paint in raw, gestural strokes that give the finished pieces a strong textural quality.
The exhibition presents a selection of oil paintings made in response to contemporary life - the personal disruptions, political shifts, and environmental pressures that have defined the recent past. Patterson does not paint in a documentary way; the works are more atmospheric than illustrative, using strong contrasts of light and dark and the physical presence of the paint itself to carry meaning.
The gallery space at Market Place is intimate enough to reward time spent in front of individual works. There is no ticket to buy, no booking required, and no particular dress code - just turn up during opening hours and take your time. This is a good exhibition for people who do not usually go to galleries, as well as those who do.
Armagh is easily reached by road from Belfast (approximately 40 minutes via the A3) and from Dublin (roughly 90 minutes via the M1 and A3). Translink buses operate services between Armagh and Belfast, Newry, and other towns in the area. The Market Place Theatre sits in the centre of Armagh city on Market Street, within easy walking distance of the bus stops in the city centre. Street parking is available on Market Street and nearby roads, and there are pay-and-display car parks a short walk away.
Armagh is a city with a long history - two cathedrals face each other across the hill, the Georgian streetscape is well preserved, and the Armagh County Museum on the Mall is free to enter. A walk between the two cathedrals, both named for St Patrick, takes around ten minutes and gives a good sense of the city’s scale. 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.