MVAN grew out of the first cohort of students to graduate from the first part-time Fine Art degree course for mature students, run by what was then the Kent institute of Art and Design.
Unlike fulltime students who came from far and wide, part-time mature students had lives in Kent, so remained in touch after graduation and wanted to continue making art together.. They split into two groups one centred round Canterbury and one centred round Maidstone. The Maidstone group soon saw a need to widen their horizons to include other artists in the area. Not only that but to include artists of all visual media and all education backgrounds from those with art degrees to those who were self-taught. We went through all sorts of name changes but landed on Maidstone Visual Artists Network which describes what we are.
The group has been going for 30 years and many of us make art from recycled materials.
