City of Asylum
Giving Voice.
A dedicated musician and staunch activist in his own right, Colter Harper and bandmates Kelsey Jumper, José Luis Martins, Tony DePaolis, and Lucas Ashby honor nine-time Latin Grammy winner and member of the Tropicália arts movement Caetano Veloso.
Author of National Book Award finalist I Hotel shares a new novel illuminating the lives of laborers, artists, scholars, informants, and activists who, over three generations, defined the Japanese American community post–Pearl Harbor.
Booker Prize–shortlisted author Madeleine Thien discusses her latest work, a “Time” Must-Read Book of the Year.
In a tribute to the myriad ways jazz builds and becomes community, lifelong friends and iconic musicians explore themes of connection both within and beyond the making of music.
Filmmaker Jose Muniain, photographer Lynn Johnson, and writer Amy S.F. Lutz ("We Walk: Life with Severe Autism") share their creative projects, which all center on the stories of real people living with profound autism.
A 10-piece ensemble with a passion for “dancing out loud” performs music from Guinea and other areas of West Africa with beautiful costuming, powerful movement, and spirited song.
Master of jazz, R&B, and Latin music, Dr. Emmett Goods returns to City of Asylum for a lively performance highlighting his rich musical background and lifetime of experience.
City of Asylum Writer-in-Residence shares a preview of the forthcoming English translation of his 2022 novel, a multi-generational mystery blending Brazilian, Syrian, Polish-Jewish, and West African Muslim threads, in conversation with the work’s Arabic-to-English translator.
City of Asylum welcomes back longtime friends and partners at Pittsburgh Poetry Collective for a night of poetry competition, audience participation, judge scrutiny, and community connection at the Steel City Poetry Slam.
Our final America at 250 program offers a personal meditation on and tribute to Black single motherhood from “one of the most important feminist writers of the 21st century” (Brittney Cooper).
Legendary Pittsburgh percussionist Roger Humphries honors his former bandleader and friend, composer of “Song for My Father” Horace Silver.
City of Asylum hosts a screening of a new documentary from director Tony Buba and historian Marcus Rediker, which explores the life and ideas of an unknown radical Quaker dwarf abolitionist Benjamin Lay.
Who do you let see the real you? Who do you become when day turns to night? This September, share the facets of your Alter Ego with at Story Club PGH’s “Double Life” themed Story Slam!
Rebecca Blumenstein is President, Editorial of NBC News, where she manages newsgathering and operations around the world, digital and flagship shows including NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press and Dateline. From 2017 to 2023, she... more →
Join Cristina Modreanu for a conversation on her book Performing Womanhood in Eastern Europe: The Other White Woman as it approaches its first anniversary. Performing Womanhood in Eastern Europe explores a distinctive form of womanhood... more →
Strega Prize–winning novelist Andrea Bajani explores the aftermath of an abusive marriage, the son who bore witness to it, and his liberating decision to leave those family connections behind.
Pittsburgh's importance as a Jazz city involves many different facets and the history of the Jazz guitar is well represented here. On September 24, we will celebrate this aspect of... more →
The award-winning author of “If They Come For Us” uses their sophomore collection of meditative poems to pursue the question: Exiled from ancestral homelands, how can one find a place for themself in the world?
Guatemalan author Eduardo Halfon, a recipient of the Guatemala National Prize in Literature, presents a novel of memory, violence, connection, estrangement, and the long-term impact of individual and collective trauma.
The Áñez twins’ music is designed to be performed with a stripped-down setup that centers vocals and small instruments. This performance is presented as a part of "Songs in the Key of She," a platform in which talented women in music share their creativity and stories with new audiences.
The songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart created many masterpieces for the Great American Songbook. Vocalist Grace Elliott, one of Pittsburgh's best young singers, will present her interpretations... more →
Join Khirsten Scott for a conversation with Yona Harvey on her upcoming collection Leap & Grow Feathers, which publishes on September 15, 2026. Both an instruction and a divination, Leap & Grow Feathers is an extraordinary transmission.... more →
Join in on the film festival fun this October with an international queer film screening from Reel Q as they celebrate their nine-day film festival!
Everyone has those conversations they replay over and over in their head. This October, head to Alphabet City with your comebacks, last words, and unspoken apologies for Story Club PGH’s “Things Left Unsaid” Story Slam.
South African Poet Laureate and celebrated author Mongane Wally Serote discusses his literary oeuvre and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Soweto rebellion.
Pittsburgh-based poet grace (ge) gilbert shares their hybrid form, debut full-length poetry collection exploring the murder of their grandmother in 1976 and the ripple-effect this loss had on their family.
Internationally acclaimed pianist Alton Merrell and trio members Jeff Grubbs and David Throckmorton present a combination lecture and performance demonstrating the legendary artist McCoy Tyner’s lasting impact on jazz.
Originally from Ukraine, Olena Boryshpolets has been a Writer-in-Residence at the City of Asylum Fellowship for Ukrainian Writers since 2023. Join us for a presentation of her new poem The Bride.... more →
Drummer and composer James Johnson III shares a project three years in the making: a suite of songs inspired by nature, where a trio of strings joins a traditional jazz quintet.
One of America’s foremost poets, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, author of 13 books of poetry and winner of the Bollingen Prize for Poetry, visits Alphabet City, in conversation with the director of Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series.
