Passing Place Gallery

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Introduction

Passing Place opened at 76 George Street in April 2026. Founded by Deirdre MacKenna and Lise Buckeridge, it describes itself as a gallery and meeting place rather than a shop with pictures, working with artists, producers and agencies on exhibitions that dig into the issues affecting places and communities like this one.

The programme set its stall out early. The inaugural exhibition explored the theme of Belonging, bringing together work by Olivia Priya Foster, Leena Nammari, Alexander and Susan Maris, Sheila Quillin and Susannah Rose. It was followed by Hiding in Plain Sight, pairing Carolyne Mazur's photographs with Daniel Freytag's drawings to represent the natural and constructed places around us that the eye can't see. Exhibitions change through the year, with events and talks alongside, and the gallery is open every day. For a town best known as a ferry gateway, it's a sign of Oban's growing confidence as a place worth stopping in rather than passing through.

Location

Passing Place is at 76 George Street, Oban's main street, which runs along the bay a few minutes' walk from both the train station and the CalMac ferry terminal. Oban sits on the Argyll coast about 2.5 hours' drive from Glasgow, and the West Highland Line runs direct trains from Glasgow Queen Street. Parking on George Street itself is limited, so the town's car parks are the better bet if you're driving.

What's nearby

The Jetty Gallery, a longer-established contemporary gallery, is a minute's walk along George Street at number 100, and together the two make a decent art crawl of Oban's main street. Oban Distillery, founded in 1794 and one of Scotland's oldest, sits in the town centre with the town built around it, quite literally, as the distillery came first. McCaig's Tower, the unfinished granite colosseum above the rooftops, is a short steep walk up for the best view over the bay to Kerrera and Mull. The Oban Seafood Hut at the ferry pier serves some of the cheapest fresh langoustines in Scotland, and Dunollie Castle and its museum sit a pleasant shoreside walk north along the Corran Esplanade.