Born in Preston, Lancashire, UK, in 1978.
Lives in North Yorkshire.
When Matthew Dever was young he was interested in drawing and painting, encouraged by his grandfather and uncle, a professional artist living and working in Manchester during the 80s.
In 1990, Matthew, his parents, grandparents, two brothers and an uncle drove to Poland in a minibus to retrace their past; Matthew was charged with documenting the event on an 8mm format Sony. The exact whereabouts of their relatives laid mostly unknown, so they drove across Europe and worked it out along the way. Matthew was able to document rural life, a family affected by Chernobyl fallout and a protest outside the Russian Embassy in Krakow. The footage ran to a three-hour film.
As part of Matthew Dever's degree studies, in 2001, he read sociology and social policy and he now uses a sociological perspective to research influence on beliefs and behaviours; specifically, collective behaviour and the relationship between individuals and society.
Matthew Dever has produced PR stories in education and cultural heritage that have been published globally, with clients including the AP, The Late Show with David Letterman, the Department for Education, Historic England, and BBC News.
In 2019, Matthew was asked to talk about his work at a symposium at Cambridge University.
In 2020, Matthew’s work was featured on a Sky Arts television show called ‘Rankin’s 2020’ and was part of the International Center of Photography’s exhibition and archive ‘#ICP Concerned: Global Images for Global Crisis’ and the accompanying book showing daily life in the midst of the global pandemic, autocratic regimes, and deep political and social unrest.
Recently, Matthew helped a small charity win a Smiley Charity Film Award; inspired by that event, in 2024, he founded a micro company that specialises in independent film and publications with a social concern.
Matthew is a member of a-n, BECTU, Shutter Hub and North.Art.