Damir Fabijanić (Zagreb, 1955) has been an amateur photographer since 1968, working part-time since 1973, and fully professionally since 1987, when he was granted freelance status.

He has staged more than hudred solo exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. His solo exhibition in Madrid (23 January 1992) was the first Croatian exhibition abroad (after the international recognition of Croatia) and, at the same time, the first Croatian exhibition in Spain. The exhibition held in Paris in September 1993 was the first Croatian exhibition officially organized by the French. The exhibitions in Romania and Moldova in 1994 and in Greece in 1996 were the first Croatian exhibitions in those countries.


Damir Fabijanić was the first and is still the only Croatian photographer who has shown his work at the most important European festival– The Festival of Photography in Arles in 1992. The European Union marked Croatia’s accession to the Union with the Welcome Croatia exhibition (Fabijanić’s selection of 38 of his own photographs of Croatia) in the European Parliament (Brussels and Strasbourg).

He was the originator of the idea and the photographer for the important project Dubrovnik… of both the exhibition and the book of the same name. He owns the largest collection of photographs of the most important motifs of Dubrovnik and its surroundings (1988 – present day). He was a photographer and editor of photography for the Croatia magazine, the inflight magazine of Croatia Airlines (1993-2016), ORIS (1999-2008) and Iće&piće (since 2007). He has staged numerous exhibitions (Croatia, Europe, Latin America), on his own, as well as books and projects (The Fruits of Evil, The villa of Dubrovnik, LONDON from A to Z, In the Midst of Things….), and as an associate of numerous institutions.

His active interest in amateur photography dates from elementary school. From 1970 Fabijanić was intensively influenced by the legendary Swiss magazine Camera, as well as his intensive study of foreign photographic literature (today he owns an impressive collection of photographic books). His acquaintance, and later also friendship with Harvey Zucker, the owner of the first bookshop in the world dedicated exclusively to photography (A Photographer’s Place, New York) had a major influence on him.

He received the Order of the Croatian Morning Star (Danica Hrvatska), with the image of Marko Marulić (1998), and the Charter of an Honorary Citizen of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County (2000).


He received the Grand Prix at the 31st Zagreb salon, the Vjesnik Josip Račić award for the visual arts (1988), UHA’s Bernardo Bernardi award for the formation and interior design of the Croatian pavilion at EXPO 2005 in Japan, and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts award for the visual arts in 2016.

He has followed the international photographic scene since his youth. He owns a large collection of photographic books and magazines. He is also actively involved in addressing the problems of Croatian photography in interviews, printed texts and lectures.

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