Korčula Island/Croatia – The Island of Marco Polo and Graffiti
Written by Leon GSK
Published on January 13th, 2026
Korčula Island, one of the most significant islands of the Adriatic, has for centuries been recognized as a place of rich maritime, cultural, and artistic tradition. According to local legend, this is the birthplace of Marco Polo, the world-famous traveler whose name the island still proudly carries in its tourist and cultural identity. Throughout history, Korčula stood at the center of major maritime routes, enabling the exchange of ideas, styles, and crafts that shaped its character. The town of Korčula is renowned for its Gothic-Renaissance architecture, but equally important traces can be found in the island’s smaller settlements.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Vela Luka became widely known for its modernist sculptural colonies, which brought leading Croatian and European artists to the village. From this period dates the still-visible monumental hippie symbol — the large PEACE sign carved into the rocks above the town. This tradition of collaboration and creative exchange continued in later decades, shaping Vela Luka into an open-air seaside atelier. In more recent times, during the 1990s, Vela Luka also developed a lively urban graffiti art scene, building a bridge between heritage and contemporary expression. Murals, graffiti, and public interventions became part of the visual identity of the place, making it one of the rare smaller Adriatic localities with a continuous subcultural creative presence.
Unlike larger cities where scenes emerge through powerful subcultural waves, Vela Luka developed a compact, friendly, and highly authentic micro-community. Early graffiti appeared in the early 1990s, parallel with the global rise of hip-hop, MTV, and the first Croatian youth magazines that occasionally wrote about graffiti, as well as the TV show TOP DJ MAG, which devoted several episodes to graffiti and hip-hop culture. During this period, the core of the first generation of writers emerged, producing simple tags, bubble styles, and early attempts at letter stylization. Though modest in execution, these works laid the foundations for the visual landscape that defined the decade.
The 2000s brought an apparent quiet period: the original crew left for school, work, or temporarily moved away from the island. But the scene did not disappear — it remained quietly active, seasonal, and fragmented, with occasional works appearing in hidden locations. With the rise of new communication platforms in the 2010s, the scene revived once again, and former writers occasionally returned to the island, creating a unique process of revitalization driven by returnee nostalgia and new generations. Not to be forgotten are the occasional visits by Croatian and international writers who “guest” on the walls of Vela Luka.
In presenting the graffiti scene of this special place, certain names of Vela Luka writers are indispensable — such as Yeza, Karet, Letak, Riot, and Anesk. Many of them extend their creativity beyond graffiti writing, working in other media as well. Particularly notable is Karet, the author of a sculptural work located in the center of the town, who creates in metal in addition to graffiti.
From the 2020s onward, Vela Luka has been experiencing a renewed awakening: occasional gatherings of veterans, new meetups by the walls, and spontaneous drawing sessions have brought back a visibility the scene hadn’t enjoyed in years. Today, Vela Luka stands as one of the few smaller Adriatic places with a documented continuity of graffiti culture spanning more than 30 years.
Graffiti art in Vela Luka is not merely an episodic phenomenon but part of the cultural identity of the place — an almost thirty-year-long continuous expression of local creativity. Its strength does not stem from monumental walls but from authenticity, continuity, and community. Vela Luka shows how even a small island environment can create a scene that leaves a mark and shapes generations.
Written by Kresimir Golubic (Leon GSK)