Coby Foundation

Ann Hamilton, habitus. Installation Pier 9, Philadelphia, Fabric Workshop and Museum.

Photo courtesy StreetsDept.com.

Decorated Wall Hanging, Egypt, early 20th century, cotton (detail). Newark Museum Purchase, 1929

From Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam through Time & Place, Newark Museum

Nursing Dress, c. 1845. American. Printed cotton. Gift of Mrs. Louis P. Merriman, Wadsworth Atheneum.

From Gothic to Goth: Romantic Era Fashion & Its Legacy, Wadsworth Atheneum

The Last Judgment, Flemish, c. 1500. (detail) Museum Purchase, © Worcester Art Museum

From The Last Judgment Tapestry, Worcester Art Museum

Deborah Berger (1956–2005), Untitled (Mask), East Windsor, New Jersey, before 1984, knitted orlon (detail), Collection American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, gift of the Arts Council of New Orleans. Photo by Mary Dwan.

From When the Curtain Never Comes Down, American Folk Art Museum

Family Register Sampler stitched by Olive Ann Parker of Eliot, Maine, 1840 (detail), Collection of the Dyer Library Saco Museum

From I My Needle Ply With Skill: Maine Schoolgirl Needlework of the Federal Era, Dyer Library and Saco Museum

The Coby Foundation, Ltd., located in New York City, funds projects in the textile and needle arts field. Its funding is limited to non-profit organizations in the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

The Coby Foundation was established in 1994 by Irene Zambelli Silverman in honor of her mother, Irene Meladakis Zambelli. Mrs. Silverman described her mother as “the finest needlewoman in New York.” Since it began its grantmaking in 2002, the Foundation has awarded more than $5 million to over 170 projects.

The Coby Foundation does not fund operations such as overhead; capital projects; and courses, scholarships and fellowships at degree-granting institutions.

We strongly encourage applicants to submit a short letter of inquiry including a project description, dates and a budget with projected income and expenses. Upon receipt of a positive response, applicant may submit an application. The Foundation’s Board, which reviews all applications that the Executive Director has invited, meets three times a year, generally in January, May and September. Please contact us regarding submission deadlines.