Valerie Giannandrea McKeag

Valerie Giannandrea McKeag graduated from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, Scotland in 1985 with a 1st class BA Honours Degree in Illustration. She moved to London and worked as a freelance illustrator working for various clients in advertising and publishing over a 12 year period.  

Scottish-Italian by birth, she came to Belfast in 1997 with her husband, re-trained as a teacher and is currently Head of Art at Ashfield Girls’ High School in East Belfast. 

As a member of the Belfast Print Workshop, she exhibited widely as a printmaker and in London as an illustrator. A recent move from Belfast to the Mourne Mountains a year ago has rekindled her passion for painting – this recent work has been inspired by the landscape around her. 

Previous exhibitions in NI: The Engine Room Gallery, Belfast, Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Limavady, Belfast Print Workshop shows, The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre, Armagh, Royal Ulster Academy exhibition, Ulster Museum, The Clotworthy Arts Centre, Antrim, Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, Waterfront Hall, Belfast. 

Recent solo exhibitions: Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, & Downpatrick Arts Centre. 
Her works are held in public and private collections in Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and London.