City of Asylum celebrates the 2022–2023 Allegheny County Youth Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Ambassadors with a teen-curated program in observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The program features poetry readings from teens followed by a panel discussion on youth and arts activism.

Organized and hosted by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh, Story Club Pittsburgh hosts a monthly nonfiction storytelling series at City of Asylum. The theme for January 2023 is "Fresh Start." 

In this second concert exploring the relationship between music, visual art, and mental health, City of Asylum regular Thomas Wendt pairs the music of Thelonious Monk with the paintings of Norman Klenicki.

The Tree of Life tragedy led Ari Mittleman to write "Paths of the Righteous," which profiles eight individuals who have gone above and beyond for Israel and the Jewish people. As we mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day only a few days after this program, the stories of those shared in Ari’s book can inspire us all.

This program celebrates the release day of Aleksandar Hemon’s new novel, "The World and All That It Holds." A grand, tender, sweeping story that spans decades and continents, the novel cements Aleksander as one of the boldest voices in fiction.

Reel Stories is a monthly film series dedicated to showcasing international queer cinema. Presented in partnership with ReelQ, January’s screening presents "Temblores," Guatemalan film director Jayro Bustamante’s deeply personal followup to his landmark debut, "Ixcanul."

Discover a world of creativity and tradition through a picture book program with Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, author of "Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky." This program includes a story time, an interactive activity about color, and a book signing. Children and families are encouraged to wear the color blue in celebration of the program. 

City of Asylum celebrates the release of "Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices" edited by author Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond. Fresh and electrifying, "Relations" features stories, poems, and essays by African and diaspora writers.

The Free Association Reading Series is back for this year's second installment of intimate readings featuring exceptional local writers Clare Beams, Jim Daniels, Lisa Slage Robinson, and Damian Dressick. This series is co-curated by Pat Hart and Marc Nieson. 

Karel Berman. Hans Krása. Viktor Ullmann. Pavel Haas. The Clarion Quartet honors these four musicians from Terezín with a poignant evening of music. Selections include Haas’s String Quartet No. 2, Klein’s String Trio, and Ullman’s Piano Sonata No. 1.

City of Asylum hosts a night of American Sign Language (ASL) and Visual Vernacular performances featuring Lisa McBee, and others. This is the second installment of our ongoing City of ASL series curated by ASL Poet Laureate of Allegheny County Mj Shahen.

Following their recent performance of "AKUTAGAWA," City of Asylum welcomes puppeteers Koryū Nishikawa V and Tom Lee, as well as Pittsburgh-based puppeteer David English, for an insightful conversation on the art of puppetry. This panel examines the ways in which puppetry can be a vehicle to express art and literature in addition to exploring cultural differences in the medium.