Supporting Young Visual Artists

The Student Scholarships Award (5000.00 dollars per year for the accredited art program) is presented annually to Winchester students who qualify under the inclusionary categories listed below and seek to pursue a professional career in the two-dimensional or three-dimensional visual arts. The award recognizes students who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment and interest in the professional field of the visual arts. Entrants must submit a portfolio of work representing their creative experience and details of the accredited professional art education programs they have applied to and will attend.

Submissions must be made by February 15th.

Student Scholarship Award Categories

• Undergraduate and Graduate Artists’ Scholarships
• Technical School Scholarships
• Disabled Artists Scholarships

Recipients

My leadership roles and photography expertise offered me the experience to be an impactful community member and individual. I am an honors photography student and have completed all levels of photography at my school and am a two-time participant in Photosynthesis. Outside of art, I am the captain of the varsity basketball team and am the founding president of the Winchester farmers market club. These leadership roles allowed me to contribute to my community by organizing fundraisers and volunteering opportunities. Art gave me the confidence to be myself, allowing me to become a well-rounded individual capable of maintaining multiple interests.

I participated in Tufts University’s SMFA Pre-college Experience in 2019 and took classes at the Oogie Art program in Lexington, Massachusetts. During my junior year, I created an independent AP art portfolio with a concentration in cultural identity.

In June 2021, I was selected as the 2nd place winner of the Congressional Art Competition in Massachusetts’s 5th District. My work is currently displayed in MA Representative Katherine Clark’s office. My work titled Fragile Hope was also selected as the promotional image for an art show and exhibition at the Lexington Arts and Crafts Center.

I am really looking forward to attending an Art College next year. My dream has always been to attend an art school, so much so that in 6th grade, I made this poster still hanging on my wall stating: “Goal: get into an art school.” My main inspiration for my art is to heal people and bring positivity to those who see my art.

Sherry’s work is influenced by her surroundings and everyday experiences. Although this is the case of most artists, Sherry has presented her work in a minimalistic way to force the viewer to tap into their own imagination for the experience. Her body of work reflects her other overwhelming interest. Sherry plans on a double major in art and biology at Tufts University.

Nathan is passionate about bringing art and architecture together. To that end he has enriched his creative background by studying sculpture, drawing, painting and photography. He strives to create spaces that evoke positive emotions like warmth and comfort.This background will be an enormous resource as he takes his talent to Penn State.

Elizabeth Tian, recipient of the Arthur Griffin Foundation Scholarship for 2020 will attend The Pratt Institute in New York.  The Institute describes itself as being “located in the most innovative part of the most interesting part of the most important city in the world”.  Winchester High is sending them one of their most talented and most innovative graduates!

Throughout my life I have expressed myself through art, whether it be media or motion. I have always found it an effective way to share stories and interpret the world in which I live.Photography, film, and dance are important creative outlets for me: they let me articulate the sometimes elusive ideas in my mind and better understand those of others. Art has influenced the way I see life, the world, and the person I have become by allowing me to understand the way others interpret the world and giving me the opportunity to share my own interpretation of the world. I intend to continue developing my knowledge and skills by majoring in photography at The School of Visual Arts in New York City.

I am a passionate artist and historian, and I have also participated in many school activities (e.g., Film Club, Nordic Skiing). I am also a member of the Winchester Youth Center and the Winchester Relay for Life committee. I plan on attending Lesley University, with the hopes of becoming either an art or history teacher who inspires his students. I plan to minor in sculpture or illustration, and use my art to display my political views and express my opinion on this world we all share. At Lesley I would be able to master my art and teaching skills and set myself on this path I envision. I hope to integrate art and humanities into my teaching curriculum to keep my classes fresh, fun, and interesting.

It is my opinion that American public schools are failing our nation’s kids. And too many students have become wracked with debt. After college I hope to use art from young artists across the nation to create a book or documentary on our outdated and substandard public education system. I dream of an America where good public education is available to all and in the future students are not burdened by debt.

Art has created a connection between others and myself that is much more powerful than words. Trying to articulate myself never quite carried my message out as well as art has. Unlike speech, others can see who I am with my artwork. Something as small as a brush stroke is an effortless connection between viewer and artist that is so much stronger and intimate than words. Although I enjoy opening up with others, nothing comes close to the feeling that it is completely my own work, expressing feeling, love and pain.

Throughout my art education career, I have continued to express myself through the creative practice of painting and drawing. I strive to create bonds between the viewer, thus recreating the emotions I was feeling at the time of creation in my interpretation of the human figure and nature and myself.

I will continue to push myself and work hard in my art education, striving to become the best artist I can be. I have and will always want to make an impact on the viewer I strive to make the viewer feel how the skin of the figure might feel, the softness of the atmosphere, or the message beneath the paint. Moving forward to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I will have endless opportunities in their galleries and internships and will take advantage of the resources available for students. I cannot wait to begin my life immersed in an artist community and finally become part of the art world.

Growing up in a suburb of Boston, Meghan Cronin, a recent Winchester High School graduate with a thirst for knowledge; is eager to discover new ways of viewing the world. She is fascinated with the camera’s ability to capture unique moments in time. She is most interested in fine art and fashion photography and yet has many more categories to explore.

In past years Meghan has received a Gold Key, Silver Key and three Honorable Mentions in Photography from the Boston Globe Scholastic Art and Writing awards sponsored by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In addition her photographs have been exhibited at Lesley University, Education First, Peter Miller Fine Art Gallery, Griffin Museum of Photography, and Lexington Center for the Arts. During her high school career Meghan was president of her high school’s photography club as well as a member of Tech Crew. Meghan has photographed for Lush Cosmetics in Harvard Square. She has also photographed multiple projects for her school website, local theater events, and local musicians. In the upcoming year Meghan will attend Boston University to pursue degrees in photojournalism and film production.

A phenomenon that scientists have identified as a commonplace way of life is called the “negative bias”, meaning many people are prone to looking at a person or a situation in an automatically negative light. The “cure” consists of simply being a more observant and openly kind person. Doing so can help to boost the confidence and happiness of yourself and others. I try to apply this “cure” everywhere I can in life. It is one aspect of my personality as a person and an artist that I think shows in my work. Making art has meaning in it for me aside from making something fun to look at. I want to elicit a response that is curious and thoughtful, for people to take a second thought as to what might have been my message while also finding their own meaning.

I have loved taking art classes every year in my high school career while also harboring an interest in Psychology and English, particularly Literature & Film and Creative Writing. These are all areas that have really piqued my interest and I would love to continue down a path of trying to better my understanding of the world.

I’ve been consistently captivated by the power of animation in the hands of intelligent, creative minds. I believe in studying your heroes, finding out who their heroes are and study them. Outside of school and in my spare time I explore, study, practice, and try to find my own style. Some extracurricular classes I’ve completed are:Lesley University: Comics and the Graphic Novel, 3D Animation, Muscles & Movement, and 2D AnimationMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Completed week-long Animation program MassArt: Saturday Studio in Animation for students in grades 9 – 12 using a variety of approaches.

In my work, I like to explore the human form in all capacities. I am fascinated by conveying emotion and narrative through form. For this reason, my primary subject is people.

Throughout my high school career, I have immersed myself in the arts. I enjoy singing and have been part of an a cappella group and chorus for most of my high school career. I constantly seek out opportunities to connect with an audience. I have performed in many theatrical productions. Theater creates an environment in which artists, all with different perspectives, have to collaborate and cooperate in order to be at their best every time the curtain goes up. As a visual artist, these themes influence and color my approach. I learned about the art of storytelling, and how a seemingly simple concept can move people. I am mostly self taught in visual art, but I am currently in a Senior Honors Art course at my high school. Outside of school, I have taken several precollege art courses at Lesley and MassArt. I am accepted to both of these schools and I intend to pursue an animation major in the Fall of 2016. I’m excited to fine tune my skill and explore storytelling through my art. I am determined to take part in the creation of something that lasts.