David Wright Faladé & Patrick Rosal Reading

City of Asylum @ Home

Award winning writers Patrick Rosal and David Wright Faladé join us in virtual conversation to celebrate the launch of their new works, Faladé’s novel Black Cloud Rising and Rosal’s poetry collection The Last Thing.

Cole Arthur Riley: “This Here Flesh”

City of Asylum @ Home

Cole Arthur Riley is a Pittsburgh raised writer and creator of Black Liturgies (@blackliturgies), daily spiritual reflections on Instagram. Cole joins City of Asylum to read from her debut collection, This Here Flesh, which weaves stories from three generations of her family to discover the “necessary rituals” that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.

World Jazz with Tomchess & Ravi Padmanabha

Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Joined by bassist Eli Namay, the trio is inspired by sounds of Near Eastern music, free-jazz, and world roots. They create sounds that cross genres and do not exist in typical musical spaces. Their goal is to share rich audience experiences that reach deeper into the nuance of life and listening in the 21st century global culture. 

Brian Broome: “Punch Me Up to the Gods”

City of Asylum @ Home

This is a virtual-only event hosted via City of Asylum @ Home. A poetic and raw coming-of-age memoir about Blackness, masculinity, and addiction, Punch Me Up to the Gods is Brian Broome’s NY Times’ Editor’s Pick debut work.  Brian’s early years growing up in Ohio as a dark-skinned Black boy harboring crushes on other boys... more →

Global Choral Traditions with the Mendelssohn Choir

Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

The Mendelssohn Choir invites you to Alphabet City to explore the rich traditions of global choral music with local artists. Participants will learn about specific cultural song traditions, and have the opportunity to sing songs from within those traditions. It’s an interactive concert like no other! And no singing experience required. 

Story Club PGH Story Slam: Culture Shock

Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

In person tickets for this event are SOLD OUT but you can still join in virtually!

Storytelling is a tradition that spans across cultures, countries, and centuries. Storytelling traditions span across cultures, countries, and centuries. Stories bring us together to experience joy, wonderment, and intrigue—and they allow us to build deeper empathy and understanding.

Michael Formanek Drome Trio

Alphabet City 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

They visit Pittsburgh to play their newest album, Were We Where We Were (March 2022) featuring primarily original compositions from Michael Formanek. This is an evening of jazz masters at work.

Wil Haygood & Emmai Alaquiva

City of Asylum @ Home

Film historian and writer Wil Haygood visits City of Asylum to discuss his newest book “Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World. Wil is joined in conversation by Pittsburgh filmmaker and activist Emmai Alaquiva.

Actors Talk August Presented by August Wilson House

Chuck Smith is a long-time, active August Wilson director, a resident director at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where he’s supervised and directed Wilson plays (including Gem of the Ocean, which just closed) and, during his free time, a regular director at the West coast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota. He seems to know just about everyone in the Wilsonian theater universe. We’ll have a good time talking!

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