John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship - Griffin Museum of Photography
Source: https://griffinmuseum.org/chervinsky_scholarship
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:21
John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship - Griffin Museum of Photography
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About the Scholarship
The
John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship
seeks to recognize, encourage and reward photographers with the potential to create a body of work and sustain solo exhibitions.
Awarded annually, the Scholarship provides recipients with a monetary award of $3,000, exhibition of their work at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and a volume from John’s personal library of photography books. The Scholarship seeks to provide a watershed moment in the professional lives of emerging photographers, providing them with the support and encouragement necessary to develop, articulate and grow their own vision for photography.
About John Chervinsky
Though John Chervinsky seemingly had a camera in his hand from his earliest childhood, it was not until moving to Boston from Niagara Falls, New York in 1984 that he became truly passionate about photography. Roaming the streets of Boston, Dorchester and Cambridge with his father’s Kodak Retina, John photographed anything that caught his hungry eye, ostensibly to capture subjects for painting (his primary artistic interest at the time), but also to better understand and adjust to his new home. In 2003, after fifteen years as an engineer in applied physics at Harvard, John took advantage of a continuing-education stipend and enrolled in Photography Atelier.
The Analysis, 2005
Continuum I, 2004
His experience in Atelier marked a turning point in John’s development as a photographer, thanks to its supportive environment of peer critique, structured experimentation and professional direction. Armed with his Atelier toolkit, John moved from street photography into the controlled environment of the studio, where he set about creating the visually beguiling, precise yet beautiful body of work upon which his acclaimed reputation as an artist rests.
Experiment In Perspective
, John’s first solo exhibition, was held at the Griffin Museum of Photography in 2005, and continued to travel the country. The recipient of several grants, John’s work has been widely exhibited across the United States, in Canada, and in South Korea. Featured in print publications around the globe, John’s work is held in numerous public and private collections.
Hourglass, Painting on Door, 2015
, Clock, Outlet and Painting on Wall, 2011
Balloon, Rock on Table with Painting, 2010
John Chervinsky passed away in December of 2015, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The modesty and unassuming character John conveyed in life belies the extent to which he will be missed, not only by his family and friends, but also by the entire photographic community of which he was so proud to be a part. In a recent interview with colleague Aline Smithson, John was asked to describe his “perfect day.” His response will come as no surprise to those who had the good fortune to know him: “
It would involve swimming across Walden Pond with my wife Kirsten, playing Frisbee with my dog Little Walter, running up the spiral staircases at the Rowland Institute, shooting ‘a keeper’ in my studio, listening to good music, listening to bad music, fish on the grill, a pint of fine ale, another pint of fine ale. I have lots of perfect days – my needs are simple.
”
You can read more about John in this interview with
Lenscratch Magazine
.
Here are the winners and finalists of the Chervinsky Scholarship
. We are grateful to all the artists who submitted and shared their work, along with the selected Scholarship winner and ffinalists for telling thier stories, sharing their creativity and being part of our creative community.
John established and fully funded this scholarship for its first ten years. To continue this extraordinary gift of supporting emerging photographers, we now rely on the generosity of our community. Your financial support is essential to sustaining this opportunity and nurturing artists at a pivotal moment in their creative development.
Please consider making a gift
to help carry forward John’s legacy and support the scholarship’s future.
Donate to the John Chervinsky Emerging Artist Scholarship
here.
The next round of submissions will open in October 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
The scholarship is open to photographers who have produced individual works of photography and/or are in the process of producing bodies of work.
We are looking for candidates who are serious about photography, whose potential is emerging and whose photography will benefit from this scholarship. Candidates can be currently enrolled in a photography degree program if in their graduating year. There is no age limit. There are no residency requirements. There is no application fee.
Photographers without gallery representation who have
not
exhibited solo in a commercial gallery, academic gallery (except for thesis shows), nor galleries in organizations like the Griffin Museum, Houston Center for Photography, Center for Fine Art Photography etc. nor a museum setting or have not received significant (over $3000) grant funding are eligible (coffee shop, community gallery, library, academic thesis exhibitions, etc. are eligible exhibition settings). Past awardees of the Chervinsky Scholarship, paid employees of the Griffin Museum or their immediate families, Griffin Museum board members and jurors’ immediate families and those immediate families of Griffin board members or jurors’ paid employees are not eligible.
This scholarship is not for well-established photographers. Well-established photographers are individuals in mid-photography-careers and are seen by the public and peers as distinguished in the field of photography and have many accomplishments as a photographer. Of note, receiving a Fulbright Scholarship would disqualify a candidate from receiving this scholarship. Producing a published (by a publisher) photo book would disqualify a candidate from receiving this scholarship. Self publishing does not disqualify a candidate.
Submission
You will be asked for a brief biography and artistic cv
(a single PDF that includes both bio and cv. In the PDF title include Chervinsky and last name and first name.)
; a statement of artistic purpose/intent of how you will use the scholarship; a statement on the work supplied, and flattened rgb jpgs (1200 pixels on the longest side) of your photographs (10 photographs). Naming convention is last name_first name_title
.
jpg. Artistic Purpose is how you will use the scholarship and your plan for doing so. The statement is about your body of work.
You will need to add an artistic statement
and
a project statement in the gateway application as well as bio and cv and 10 images. No other means of submission will be accepted. All missing criteria will disqualify the submission. Emails will not be accepted as a method of submissions. It is recommended that great thought and effort be put into the artistic purpose/intent statement (see
sample supplied
).
Scholarship Dates and Deadlines
Submission period
open October 1, 2026
Apply via
Café
.
Submissions
close November 22, 2026
at 11:59PM Mountain Time
The jurors will begin their jurying soon after submissions close.
We will announce the awardee by January 2027.
Footer
Griffin Museum of Photography 67 Shore Road, Winchester, Ma 01890
781-729-1158
email us
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Purchase Museum Admission
Hours: Tues-Sun Noon-4pm
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Calls for Entry
State of Our Union 2026
Scholarships & Residencies
Richards Family Prize
John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship
Carolyn Harder Scholarship
The Cummings Foundation Artist Residency
Griffin State of Mind
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In Person
Virtual
Receptions
Photobook Focus
Focus Awards
Education
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Photography Atelier
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Become a Member
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Griffin Salon
Member Portfolio Reviews
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Log In
Give
Give Now
Griffin Futures Fund
John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship
Leave a Legacy
About
Our Mission & Museum
Meet Our Staff
Griffin Museum Board of Directors
Arthur Griffin Photo Archive
Get in Touch
Rent the Griffin
Shop
Online Store
Admission
Membership
Here’s how to create your Griffin Member Profile
Welcome we are excited to have you and your creativity seen by so many.
1: Log into your membership account
2: To create a profile you must be logged in and be a
supporter or above
otherwise you will not see the add a profile button.
3: You can find the Griffin Salon on the Members Drop down in our Main Navigation on the home page or by starting here –
https://griffinmuseum.org/griffin-salon/
4: A button that says
Create Your Member Profile
appears
5: If you are logged in and have already created a profile you also won’t see the add a profile button
( the button launches the form
) but you will see an edit and delete icon next to your name and only yours.
6. Fill in your Artist Statement, Bio and upload up to 10 images.
NOTE
Sharing your contact information is in your hands. You can select to make your phone and email public or keep it private.
Once you have updated your information, it sends a ping to museum staff to approve the images and text, and your page will then be listed on the public website. The museum reserves the right to refuse content that is offensive, harmful, or divisive.
Images that include graphic, explicit, or politically divisive content will not be approved.
Please ensure all submitted images and text are appropriate for a public audience.
Member Directory
Form for adding and editing members to the member directory
Amy Rindskopf's Terra Novus
At the market, I pick each one up, pulled in by the shapes as they sit together, waiting. I feel its heft in my hand, enjoy the textures of the skin or peel, and begin to look closer and closer. The patterns on each individual surface marks them as distinct. I push further still, discovering territory unseen by the casual observer, a new land. I am like a satellite orbiting a distant planet, taking the first-ever images of this newly envisioned place.
This project started as an homage to Edward Weston’s Pepper No. 30 (I am, ironically, allergic to peppers). As I looked for my subject matter at the market, I found that I wasn’t drawn to just one single fruit or vegetable. There were so many choices, appealing to both hand and eye. I decided to print in black and white to help make the images visually more about the shapes, and not about guessing which fruit is smoothest, which vegetable is greenest.
Artistic Purpose/Intent
Artistic Purpose/Intent
Tricia Gahagan
Photography has been paramount in my personal path of healing from disease and
connecting with consciousness. The intention of my work is to overcome the limits of the
mind and engage the spirit. Like a Zen koan, my images are paradoxes hidden in plain
sight. They are intended to be sat with meditatively, eventually revealing greater truths
about the world and about one’s self.
John Chervinsky’s photography is a testament to pensive work without simple answers;
it connects by encouraging discovery and altering perspectives. I see this scholarship
as a potential to continue his legacy and evolve the boundaries of how photography can
explore the human condition.
Growing my artistic skill and voice as an emerging photographer is critical, I see this as
a rare opportunity to strengthen my foundation and transition towards an established
and influential future. I am thirsty to engage viewers and provide a transformative
experience through my work. I have been honing my current project and building a plan
for its complete execution. The incredible Griffin community of mentors and the
generous funds would be instrumental for its development. I deeply recognize the
hallmark moment this could be for the introduction of the work. Thank you for providing
this incredible opportunity for budding visions and artists that know they have something
greater to share with the world.
Fran Forman RSVP
Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
About the Scholarship
The
John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship
seeks to recognize, encourage and reward photographers with the potential to create a body of work and sustain solo exhibitions.
Awarded annually, the Scholarship provides recipients with a monetary award of $3,000, exhibition of their work at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and a volume from John’s personal library of photography books. The Scholarship seeks to provide a watershed moment in the professional lives of emerging photographers, providing them with the support and encouragement necessary to develop, articulate and grow their own vision for photography.
About John Chervinsky
Though John Chervinsky seemingly had a camera in his hand from his earliest childhood, it was not until moving to Boston from Niagara Falls, New York in 1984 that he became truly passionate about photography. Roaming the streets of Boston, Dorchester and Cambridge with his father’s Kodak Retina, John photographed anything that caught his hungry eye, ostensibly to capture subjects for painting (his primary artistic interest at the time), but also to better understand and adjust to his new home. In 2003, after fifteen years as an engineer in applied physics at Harvard, John took advantage of a continuing-education stipend and enrolled in Photography Atelier.
The Analysis, 2005
Continuum I, 2004
His experience in Atelier marked a turning point in John’s development as a photographer, thanks to its supportive environment of peer critique, structured experimentation and professional direction. Armed with his Atelier toolkit, John moved from street photography into the controlled environment of the studio, where he set about creating the visually beguiling, precise yet beautiful body of work upon which his acclaimed reputation as an artist rests.
Experiment In Perspective
, John’s first solo exhibition, was held at the Griffin Museum of Photography in 2005, and continued to travel the country. The recipient of several grants, John’s work has been widely exhibited across the United States, in Canada, and in South Korea. Featured in print publications around the globe, John’s work is held in numerous public and private collections.
Hourglass, Painting on Door, 2015
, Clock, Outlet and Painting on Wall, 2011
Balloon, Rock on Table with Painting, 2010
John Chervinsky passed away in December of 2015, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The modesty and unassuming character John conveyed in life belies the extent to which he will be missed, not only by his family and friends, but also by the entire photographic community of which he was so proud to be a part. In a recent interview with colleague Aline Smithson, John was asked to describe his “perfect day.” His response will come as no surprise to those who had the good fortune to know him: “
It would involve swimming across Walden Pond with my wife Kirsten, playing Frisbee with my dog Little Walter, running up the spiral staircases at the Rowland Institute, shooting ‘a keeper’ in my studio, listening to good music, listening to bad music, fish on the grill, a pint of fine ale, another pint of fine ale. I have lots of perfect days – my needs are simple.
”
You can read more about John in this interview with
Lenscratch Magazine
.
Here are the winners and finalists of the Chervinsky Scholarship
. We are grateful to all the artists who submitted and shared their work, along with the selected Scholarship winner and ffinalists for telling thier stories, sharing their creativity and being part of our creative community.
John established and fully funded this scholarship for its first ten years. To continue this extraordinary gift of supporting emerging photographers, we now rely on the generosity of our community. Your financial support is essential to sustaining this opportunity and nurturing artists at a pivotal moment in their creative development.
Please consider making a gift
to help carry forward John’s legacy and support the scholarship’s future.
Donate to the John Chervinsky Emerging Artist Scholarship
here.
The next round of submissions will open in October 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
The scholarship is open to photographers who have produced individual works of photography and/or are in the process of producing bodies of work.
We are looking for candidates who are serious about photography, whose potential is emerging and whose photography will benefit from this scholarship. Candidates can be currently enrolled in a photography degree program if in their graduating year. There is no age limit. There are no residency requirements. There is no application fee.
Photographers without gallery representation who have
not
exhibited solo in a commercial gallery, academic gallery (except for thesis shows), nor galleries in organizations like the Griffin Museum, Houston Center for Photography, Center for Fine Art Photography etc. nor a museum setting or have not received significant (over $3000) grant funding are eligible (coffee shop, community gallery, library, academic thesis exhibitions, etc. are eligible exhibition settings). Past awardees of the Chervinsky Scholarship, paid employees of the Griffin Museum or their immediate families, Griffin Museum board members and jurors’ immediate families and those immediate families of Griffin board members or jurors’ paid employees are not eligible.
This scholarship is not for well-established photographers. Well-established photographers are individuals in mid-photography-careers and are seen by the public and peers as distinguished in the field of photography and have many accomplishments as a photographer. Of note, receiving a Fulbright Scholarship would disqualify a candidate from receiving this scholarship. Producing a published (by a publisher) photo book would disqualify a candidate from receiving this scholarship. Self publishing does not disqualify a candidate.
Submission
You will be asked for a brief biography and artistic cv
(a single PDF that includes both bio and cv. In the PDF title include Chervinsky and last name and first name.)
; a statement of artistic purpose/intent of how you will use the scholarship; a statement on the work supplied, and flattened rgb jpgs (1200 pixels on the longest side) of your photographs (10 photographs). Naming convention is last name_first name_title
.
jpg. Artistic Purpose is how you will use the scholarship and your plan for doing so. The statement is about your body of work.
You will need to add an artistic statement
and
a project statement in the gateway application as well as bio and cv and 10 images. No other means of submission will be accepted. All missing criteria will disqualify the submission. Emails will not be accepted as a method of submissions. It is recommended that great thought and effort be put into the artistic purpose/intent statement (see
sample supplied
).
Scholarship Dates and Deadlines
Submission period
open October 1, 2026
Apply via
Café
.
Submissions
close November 22, 2026
at 11:59PM Mountain Time
The jurors will begin their jurying soon after submissions close.
We will announce the awardee by January 2027.
Footer
Griffin Museum of Photography 67 Shore Road, Winchester, Ma 01890
781-729-1158
email us
Map
Purchase Museum Admission
Hours: Tues-Sun Noon-4pm
MENU
Visit
Hours
Admission
Directions
Handicap Accessability
FAQs
Exhibitions
Exhibitions | Current, Upcoming, Past
Calls for Entry
State of Our Union 2026
Scholarships & Residencies
Richards Family Prize
John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship
Carolyn Harder Scholarship
The Cummings Foundation Artist Residency
Griffin State of Mind
Education & Events
Events
In Person
Virtual
Receptions
Photobook Focus
Focus Awards
Education
Classes
Photography Atelier
Professional Development Series
NEPR (New England Portfolio Reviews)
Education Policies
Travel
Members
Become a Member
My Account
Griffin Salon
Member Portfolio Reviews
Member’s Only Events
Log In
Give
Give Now
Griffin Futures Fund
John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship
Leave a Legacy
About
Our Mission & Museum
Meet Our Staff
Griffin Museum Board of Directors
Arthur Griffin Photo Archive
Get in Touch
Rent the Griffin
Shop
Online Store
Admission
Membership
Here’s how to create your Griffin Member Profile
Welcome we are excited to have you and your creativity seen by so many.
1: Log into your membership account
2: To create a profile you must be logged in and be a
supporter or above
otherwise you will not see the add a profile button.
3: You can find the Griffin Salon on the Members Drop down in our Main Navigation on the home page or by starting here –
https://griffinmuseum.org/griffin-salon/
4: A button that says
Create Your Member Profile
appears
5: If you are logged in and have already created a profile you also won’t see the add a profile button
( the button launches the form
) but you will see an edit and delete icon next to your name and only yours.
6. Fill in your Artist Statement, Bio and upload up to 10 images.
NOTE
Sharing your contact information is in your hands. You can select to make your phone and email public or keep it private.
Once you have updated your information, it sends a ping to museum staff to approve the images and text, and your page will then be listed on the public website. The museum reserves the right to refuse content that is offensive, harmful, or divisive.
Images that include graphic, explicit, or politically divisive content will not be approved.
Please ensure all submitted images and text are appropriate for a public audience.
Member Directory
Form for adding and editing members to the member directory
Amy Rindskopf's Terra Novus
At the market, I pick each one up, pulled in by the shapes as they sit together, waiting. I feel its heft in my hand, enjoy the textures of the skin or peel, and begin to look closer and closer. The patterns on each individual surface marks them as distinct. I push further still, discovering territory unseen by the casual observer, a new land. I am like a satellite orbiting a distant planet, taking the first-ever images of this newly envisioned place.
This project started as an homage to Edward Weston’s Pepper No. 30 (I am, ironically, allergic to peppers). As I looked for my subject matter at the market, I found that I wasn’t drawn to just one single fruit or vegetable. There were so many choices, appealing to both hand and eye. I decided to print in black and white to help make the images visually more about the shapes, and not about guessing which fruit is smoothest, which vegetable is greenest.
Artistic Purpose/Intent
Artistic Purpose/Intent
Tricia Gahagan
Photography has been paramount in my personal path of healing from disease and
connecting with consciousness. The intention of my work is to overcome the limits of the
mind and engage the spirit. Like a Zen koan, my images are paradoxes hidden in plain
sight. They are intended to be sat with meditatively, eventually revealing greater truths
about the world and about one’s self.
John Chervinsky’s photography is a testament to pensive work without simple answers;
it connects by encouraging discovery and altering perspectives. I see this scholarship
as a potential to continue his legacy and evolve the boundaries of how photography can
explore the human condition.
Growing my artistic skill and voice as an emerging photographer is critical, I see this as
a rare opportunity to strengthen my foundation and transition towards an established
and influential future. I am thirsty to engage viewers and provide a transformative
experience through my work. I have been honing my current project and building a plan
for its complete execution. The incredible Griffin community of mentors and the
generous funds would be instrumental for its development. I deeply recognize the
hallmark moment this could be for the introduction of the work. Thank you for providing
this incredible opportunity for budding visions and artists that know they have something
greater to share with the world.
Fran Forman RSVP