Art Gallery at Fort George, Vis Island

Fort George has hosted contemporary art exhibitions since 2013, making it one of the most distinctive gallery spaces on Vis Island. Set within the walls of a restored 19th-century fortress above the Adriatic, the gallery brings together art, history, and landscape in a setting that is unlike any conventional exhibition space.

Each year, Fort George invites artists to exhibit work that responds to the island’s identity: its landscape, military heritage, isolation, and memory. The result is a programme that feels grounded in place rather than imported from elsewhere.

Current Exhibition

Island as a Fortress Natalia Borčić

Natalia Borčić, born on Vis in 1989, returns to Fort George with a new body of work that explores the parallels between islands and fortresses, two spaces defined by boundaries, isolation, and the need for protection.

In her paintings, Borčić uses layers of pigment and corrosive substances to trace the passage of time across military structures: tunnels, bunkers, and defensive walls that have outlived their original purpose and taken on new meaning as places of collective memory. Fort George itself serves as both subject and setting, with its stone walls and open sea views directly informing the work on display.

The exhibition is part of Borčić’s participation in Island Connect, an international artistic research project that has taken her to residencies in Corsica, Tenerife, and Ireland, exploring the military heritage of island communities across Europe.

Exhibitions at Fort George

Fort George has been hosting exhibitions since 2013, with a programme that runs through the summer season alongside the venue’s restaurant, events, and lounge bar.

The Gallery does not operate as a permanent white-cube space. Instead, exhibitions are site-specific, designed to engage with the fortress architecture and the particular atmosphere of the venue. Artists work with the stone walls, the sea views, the light, and the layered history of the building as part of the exhibition itself.

Past exhibitions have featured a range of Croatian artists, including Natalia Borčić, Alma Božanić Čače, Ratko Radišić, Anita Žitko, Maya Kolega, Nikolina Knežević, Cvetko Išić, Holly Fowler, and a joint exhibition by Andrea Musa, Branka Riđički, and Jasna Barišić titled Faces of the Earth. Natalia Borčić has exhibited at Fort George several times since 2013, with each show building on a different aspect of Vis Island’s landscape, identity, and history.

New exhibitions are announced each season. Guests visiting Fort George for dinner, drinks, or events are welcome to view the current exhibition during opening hours.

Featured Artist

Natalia Borčić

Natalia Borčić was born in Vis in 1989 and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2013 under Professor Matko Vekić. She is a member of HDLU and HZSU, and has exhibited widely across Croatia and internationally, including solo exhibitions in Zagreb, Ljubljana, Split, Maribor, and Hvar, as well as group exhibitions in Germany, Montenegro, and Slovenia.

Her practice centres on painting, specifically the landscape, military heritage, and cultural identity of Vis Island, using experimental techniques that combine layers of pigment with corrosive substances to create surfaces that feel tactile, worn, and alive with memory. In 2024, she received both the Young Artist Award at the 7th Painting Biennale and the Counterpoint Award Vladimir Dodig Trokut.

Borčić has maintained a long relationship with Fort George, exhibiting here several times since 2013. Her shows have included Touch (2013 and 2014), Illustrations for the book Forbidden Carnation (2022), Artist Mother (2023), Vis Tunnels (2024), Open Sea Islands (2025), and the current exhibition Island as a Fortress (2026).

Past Exhibitions at Fort George

Fort George has hosted the following exhibitions since the gallery opened in 2014:

Year	Artist	Exhibition
2025	Natalia Borčić	Open Sea Islands
2024	Natalia Borčić	Vis Tunnels
2023	Natalia Borčić	Artist Mother
2022	Natalia Borčić	Illustrations for the book Forbidden Carnation
2017	Holly Fowler	Kingdom of Lovers
2016	Cvetko Išić	Viški boj
2015	Alma Božanić Čače	Emotional Sediments
2015	Ratko Radišić	Something Blue
2015	Anita Žitko	Vagun
2015	Andrea Musa, Branka Riđički, Jasna Barišić	Faces of the Earth
2016	Maya Kolega	The Dreamland
2019	Nikolina Knežević	Plantae
2013 / 2014	Natalia Borčić	Touch

Art and Culture on Vis Island

Vis has a long relationship with artists. Its isolation, the island was closed to foreign visitors until 1989, preserved a landscape and a pace of life that has drawn painters, writers, and filmmakers for decades. The relative quiet of the island, its military history, its coves and coastline, and the particular quality of Adriatic light have made it a recurring subject in Croatian contemporary art.

For an artist born on Vis Island, like Natalia Borčić, the island is not simply a backdrop. It is a subject in itself, one that carries the weight of isolation, belonging, military occupation, and natural beauty simultaneously. This layered identity is what makes exhibitions at Fort George feel different from urban gallery shows. The work is made in direct response to a place with real history, and shown in a building that is part of that history.

Fort George is committed to continuing this relationship between art and place, supporting artists whose work is connected to Vis Island and the broader Adriatic region.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Fort George’s exhibition programme runs annually through the summer season. Upcoming exhibitions are announced each year as the season opens.

To stay informed about new exhibitions, follow Fort George on Instagram or sign up to the newsletter.

Visit the Gallery

The Fort George Art Gallery is open to visitors throughout the summer season. There is no dedicated gallery entrance. The exhibition is integrated into the venue and can be viewed alongside a visit to the restaurant, lounge bar, or rooftop bar. Entry to the exhibition is free of charge.

Please note that on selected dates the venue may be closed to the public due to private events. Check the Events Calendar before visiting.