Valerija Mrkobrad was born in Predavac bear Bjelovar in 1941. She was educated at the Applied Arts School in Zagreb, ceramics section, and went on with her studies at the Applied Arts Academy in Belgrade, class of Ivan Tabakovic. After studying, she worked as a designer, and also as a teacher of fine arts in two elementary schools in Bjelovac.
After her university studies, she became a freelance artist, and was then employed in Bjelovar City Museum as gallery manager. This had no permanent display, for it had insufficient space, but did show parts of the holdings in between individual shows.
As artist, she had her first individual show in the Podravka Museum of Nutrition in Koprivnica, and also had a solo show the same year in Bjelovar. Her pieces in hammered copper give off power and suggestiveness. As well as with uncommon techniques and materials, in her very successful art expression, Valerija Mrkobrad has also dealt with medal making.
She has created several documentary exhibitions, for which she did the design and illustration of the catalogues. Exhibitions of Đuro Seder, Nives Kavurić Kurtović and Anton Cetin particularly stand out of the exhibitions for which she did the display and the organisation.
Since at the Academy she passed the group of educational method subjects, she often prepared educational exhibitions. For six years she has run an international children’s art workshop. She is a member of the Organisation Committee of the Caricature Salon – an international event that has been held since 1993 in June every year, organised by the Bjelovar City and Tourist Office, Valerija Mrkobrad doing the set-up and taking part in the organisation.

NB. Data taken from the questionnaire, material taken from the Personnel Archives of the MDC, and from an interview recorded on September 15, 2003.