Valentina Ilijevska is a conservator, restorer, and visual artist from Kumanovo with an extensive career dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage. She holds a Master’s degree in Conservation and Restoration of Mural Painting and is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Cultural Studies at the Institute of Macedonian Literature in Skopje.
With decades of experience, Valentina has worked on numerous conservation projects across Macedonia, including sacred art within the Kumanovo-Osogovo Diocese, as well as international collaborations in Italy, Serbia, Egypt, India, and beyond. She is an active member of professional associations such as DLUM, DLUB, ICOMOS (where she served on the Executive Board), and several regional art groups.
Her work has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions worldwide, and she has received multiple awards for her artistic and conservation contributions. Today, she continues her mission of safeguarding cultural heritage as a Conservator and Restorer at the National Institution Museum of Kumanovo.
- 2002-2006 Completed primary Art School at DSUPU “Lazar Lichenoski” -Skopje.
- 2006-2010 Graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts (FLU) – Skopje. Department of graphics and graphic techniques in the class of Prof.Msc Mirko Vujisic in the field of Conservation and Restoration with prof. Nevenka Velichkovska and Momcilo Trajkovski.
- 2012-2014 Master in Conservation and Restoration of Mural Painting in the class of Prof.Msc. Blagoja Kuzmanovski. With the defense of labor “Restoration of the damaged paint layer in the church of St. Nicholas and St. Trinity in Kumanovo.”
- 2021 She is currently on the third cycle of studies-PHD Doctoral studies at the Institute of Macedonian Literature-Skopje at the Department of Cultural Studies with Prof. Dr. Ilija Velev.
- 2012 Member of DLUM. 2015 Member of DLUB.
- 2017 Member of ICOMOS and member of the Executive Board of ICOMOS 2018-2023.
- 2018 Member of the LUCIDO-BiH group. 2021 Member of ArtCakula-Croatia.
- Since 2000 she has participated in several group exhibitions and art workshops and received several awards and diplomas. Since 2010 she has been actively participating in numerous art colonies and symposium both in the country and abroad; Serbia, BiH, Slovenia, Egypt, Sweden, Poland, Korea, India and others.
- 2009 The first solo exhibition till today, several have been realized with presentations abroad. As a member of DLUM together with her colleagues she participates in almost all planned exhibitions and projects of the association. Received several prestigious awards at DLUM.
- 2010-2016 Actively involved in the planned projects in the field of conservation and restoration led by the National Conservation Center NCC-Skopje.
- 2012-2013 Worked as a teacher (replacement) in the elementary school “Braka Miladinovci” and in several high schools in Kumanovo.
- From 2014-to this day, she works at the churches in domain of sacred art in the Kumanovo-Osogovo Diocese.
- 2017-2019 she is an art selector at the art colony “Karpino” Kumanovo.
- 2022 Exchange of knowledge on Conservation and Restoration and innovative management of Cultural Heritage between La Venaria Reale Italy and ICOMOS Macedonia, realized at the St. Sophia in Ohrid, Macedonia.
- 2022-2023 Project “Monitoring of the Orthodox Cultural Heritage” in Macedonia.
- 2024 Doctoral student in the class of Prof. Dh. Ilija Velev, with an approved topic for a doctoral dissertation “Interdisciplinary Аpproach in the Мethodology of the Conservation and Restoration of Sacred Art from the Middle of the 19thand the Beginning of the 20th Century in the Kumanovo-Osogovo Region of Macedonia”.
