Melissa Cody, Untitled, 2022.
From Melissa Cody: Webbed Skies, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY.
The majority of the Coby Foundation’s support is directed towards exhibitions and programs that combine excellent scholarship and effective interpretation. The Foundation funds a wide range of historical and contemporary topics across the arts and humanities, all of them for public benefit. Projects may include research and documentation, conservation, publications, and associated digital projects. The guidelines for Exhibition Implementation and Exhibition Planning are below.
The Coby Foundation occasionally supports peer-reviewed fashion- and textile-related monographs and collections of essays from non-profit presses in our region. Please note requirements under “for catalogues” in the Exhibition Implementation guidelines.
In all cases, the Foundation funds only the direct costs of projects.
The Coby Foundation offers grants for exhibition implementation and exhibition planning.
If you are considering submitting an application for exhibition planning, please note the following:
Planning grants are intended to allow institutions to secure consultant expertise for research, evaluation (including condition) and documentation, and for developing and refining art historical and humanities themes. Travel costs may be included. Museums may also use planning funds to commission essays for a catalogue. In the application, institutions must commit to an opening date for the exhibition itself, which should be within two-and-a-half years of the commencement of planning. Receipt of a planning grantdoes not assure funding for implementation.
Please follow these instructions for the formal application:
The Foundation requires one printed paper copy and one e-mailed PDF, each including the Cover Sheet and the requested organizational information described here. Please note that applicants need to include an audited financial statement and IRS letter in only the printed copy of the application. Do not use a presentation binder or dividers; a binder clip is sufficient. The application narrative should use 12-point type size. Addresses for physical and email delivery are below.
Exhibition planning applications must include:
- a statement explaining the importance of theme or subject and the objects under consideration;
- a list of scholarly contributors and project manager(s), with one-paragraph bios;
- the goals of the exhibition and the audience for whom the project is intended;
- ten color visuals with captions;
- the dates (months and year(s)) of the proposed exhibition;
- description of the planned catalogue (will it be hard copy or digital?);
- for conservation assessments: a description of the work and a bio of the conservator;
- for conservation treatment: a treatment proposal, estimate, images of each object, and a bio of the conservator;
- project budget, including income and expenses;
- other organizational information as detailed in the Common Application instructions.
Preliminary Inquiries
Prospective applicants for planning should submit a preliminary inquiry to the Coby Foundation’s executive director, Margi Hofer, at margi@cobyfoundation.org. Please provide a one- or two-page description and budget with income and expenses.
Please direct applications to: