2027 John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer 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 artists with a monetary award of $3,000, exhibition at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and a volume from John's personal library of photo 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.

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. 

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.

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), galleries in organizations like the Griffin Museum, Houston Center for Photography, Center for Fine Art Photography etc. or 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.

Submissions

Submissions may be made directly to Café. 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; an artist statement on the work supplied, and flattened rgb jpgs (1200 pixels on the longest side) of your photographs (10 photographs total). Please submit your images in the order you wish them to appear. numbering from 1-10 will be helpful to the jurors so they can see your intention with the works. 

Do not supply links. Café will give the jurors the ability to go there to view. 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). Artistic Purpose is how you will use the scholarship and your plan. The statement is about your body of work's intent.

It is recommended that you prepare all the elements of the application in advance. Do not start the application if you do not have time to finish it. Wait until you have time to complete the application in one session.

About the Jurors - 

Bridget Jourgensen (Cherivnsky Award winner 2024) is a Rhode Island-based digital photographer. She is the 2024 recipient of the John Chervinsky Emerging Artist Scholarship, awarded by the Griffin Museum of Photography for her photo series, Homeshadows. She exhibits her work regionally, and her photographs have been featured in juried exhibitions at the Wickford Art Association, the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Arts Center East (Vernon, CT), and The Windsor Art Center (Windsor, CT). Additionally, her work has been on display at Jessica Hagen Fine Art + Design (Newport, RI) and Stewart House (Providence, RI), and is held in private collections. She has been an exhibiting member of the Providence Art Club since 2023.

Tavon Taylor, (Chervinsky Award winner 2020) Tavon Taylor is a photography based artist. He finds strength in vulnerability, using visual narratives to represent personal experiences. He constantly discovers ways to dissect history, representation, and memory while creating intimate imagery.
He uses visual narrative as a representation of his lived experience being queer and black, questioning concepts of beauty while creating detailed and delicate photographs. Tavon’s creations are influenced by family and community through portraiture, styling, still life, and landscapes.
He bridges fine art and commercial styled images to create meditative pictorials to proffer his views on history, representation, and identity. Photography has been the tool for Tavon to explore his relationships with himself, shifting away from mental barriers of what’s expected of the black
diaspora.
Tavon graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. His work has appeared at the Roots & Culture Contemporary Art Center; The Griffin Museum of Fine Art; The MassArt Annual Auction for Student Scholarships; and more. He has received The LensCulture Art Photography 2021 Award, The John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Award and The Stephen D. Paine Scholarship Award. His work has been featured in the Boston Globe, VOGUE Italia, All About Photo, and other online publications.

Scholarship Dates and Deadlines
Monday October 5, 2026: Application period opens. 
Friday November 6, 2026: Application period closes at 11:59 PM Mountain Time. We will announce the awardee by January 1, 2027

See Application Requirements above

See Eligibility Criteria above