City of Asylum Exiled Writer and Artist Residency Program
The City of Asylum Exiled Writer and Artist Residency Program is a long-term residency for literary writers and other artists who are in exile from their home countries and under threat of persecution because of their work. The goal of this sanctuary program is to enable each writer- and artist-in-residence to continue to create while transitioning to a stable, independent life in exile.
For two years or more, we provide our writers and artists with a home, a stipend, legal counsel, medical benefits, and access to professional development opportunities. Our program is effective: Each writer or artist hosted by City of Asylum has created a full-length work while in residence, and has been able to continue to create.
City of Asylum Fellowship for Ukrainian Writers
In response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its impact on writers, City of Asylum launched a Fellowship for Ukrainian writers displaced by war.
The Fellowship enables three Ukrainian writers to come to Pittsburgh so they can continue to research, write, and publish, despite the ongoing war. Fellows Olena Boryshpolets, Oleksandr Frazé-Frazénko, and Volodymyr Rafeyenko arrived in Pittsburgh throughout 2023. They have since settled in the Northside with their families and have been getting to work on various projects. Major funding for this initiative is provided by The Educational Foundation of America.
Click on an image below to learn more about each writer or artist’s story…
You can hear from two writers, Osama Alomar and Tuhin Das, as well as City of Asylum co-founder Diane Samuels and other staff members, in this short video made by Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Ash Warren:
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