THE CULTURAL-ACADEMIC FORUM
Dr. Vladimir Simić (1976) is a professor of art history at the Faculty of Philosophy – University of Belgrade. He obtained his master's degree in 2008 and a Ph.D. in art history in 2013. As a scholarship recipient, he furthered his studies abroad (Germany, Austria, USA) and participated in various domestic and international projects. Since 2006, he has been a member of the German Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, and since 2016, he has served as the secretary at the Matica Srpska Department of Fine Arts in Novi Sad. He is the editor of the prestigious Matica Srpska Journal for Fine Arts.
As an author or collaborator, he has curated several exhibitions in leading museums in the country. Notably, exhibitions and publications in collaboration with the Gallery of Matica Srpska stand out: Sava Tekelija – A Great Serbian Benefactor (2010), For the Love of the Fatherland: Patriotism in Serbian Culture of the 18th Century (2012), Arsenije Teodorović and the Serbian Church in Buda (2017), The Romanovs and the Serbs: Reception of Images of Russian Rulers in 18th Century Art (2018), Portrait of a Serbian Intellectual in the Age of Enlightenment (2022).
His research focuses on the history of Serbian art in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the European contexts of Serbian culture in the early modern period.
Dr Daniela Korolija Crkvenjakov (1963) is a conservation advisor and full professor of conservation and restoration at the Academy of Arts – University of Novi Sad. As a conservator, she worked at the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Novi Sad and the Gallery of Matica Srpska in Novi Sad. She has led projects on the conservation, restoration, and presentation of church art heritage in Serbia, Hungary, and Romania. Her specific areas of interest include the history of conservation and technical studies of works of national art from the 18th and 19th centuries. In the Gallery of Matica Srpska, she organized several professional and scientific conferences dedicated to conservation techniques and the conservation sciences, as well as numerous lectures and visits by conservators and scientists associated with the protection of cultural heritage. Multidisciplinary studies and research on artistic materials and techniques constitute a significant part of her bibliography, with publications in chapters of books and articles in professional and scientific journals. She is the author and co-author of five books published by the Gallery of Matica Srpska. She received the Medal of Culture for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (2019), the Grand Prize of the Conservation Society of Serbia (2022), and the Jubilee Silver Medal of the Gallery of Matica Srpska for an exceptional contribution to work (2022).
Peter Krajnc was born in 1973 in Pančevo. After completing Gymnasium in Pančevo, he worked as a photographic assistant in Zoltan Totka's photo studio from 1996 to 1999. From 2001 to 2010, he was employed as a gallery technician at Gallery 107 in Zemun, dealing with exhibition setups, lighting design, and procurement of gallery materials. From 2007 to 2010, he worked as a comment moderator on the B92 website.
Since 2011, he has been engaged at the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in tasks related to technical equipment procurement and maintenance, development, and maintenance of the museum database, photographing museum items, processing photographs, digitization of collections, creation of 3D models, development of virtual galleries, and implementation of AR and VR technologies in museum practice. He participated in the realization of several exhibitions and projects at the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Professor Dr. Rastko Jovic has been employed at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology (FOT), University of Belgrade, specializing in Canon Law and Practical Theology since 2014. He completed his bachelor’s studies in Belgrade and his master’s and doctoral studies in the USA and Greece.
Before joining the faculty, he worked as a Religious Education teacher in various high schools in Belgrade and as an associate of the Pedagogical-Catechetical Institute FOT. Today, he is actively involved in multiple conferences, international exchanges, multireligious dialogues, and international projects throughout his career.
His scholarly contributions span numerous articles published in esteemed theological journals and volumes. He has also cooperated with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and collaborated with the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute, supported by the Conference of European Churches. Since 2018, he has held a significant role within the Management Committee of the international project - COST Action PIMo (CA18140): People in Motion: Entangled Histories of Displacement across the Mediterranean. In addition to working at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, he participates in the master’s program at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade.