The Global Meaningful Travel Map

City of Asylum Pittsburgh

Experience free concerts, literary events, and unique public art in a vibrant community space that champions creative expression and accessibility for all.

OUR EXPERIENCES
City of Asylum Pittsburgh hosts 120 FREE concerts, readings, and film programs per year, with volunteering opportunities available to help our events be highly successful. City of Asylum’s event space at Alphabet City is also shared with the City of Asylum Bookstore, which specializes in international works in translation, and our in-house restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto. In addition to our event space, we also have several creative placemaking projects, including public art installations like our House Publications and River of Words, as well as the Alphabet Reading Garden, all of which are free to tour upon request.

ABOUT US
City of Asylum builds a just community by protecting and celebrating freedom of creative expression. We provide sanctuary to endangered writers and artists, so that they can continue to create and their voices are not silenced. We offer a broad range of free literary, arts, and humanities programs in a community setting to build social equity through cultural exchange.

OUR IMPACT
City of Asylum Pittsburgh raises awareness for exiled writers facing persecution, encourages cultural exchange through programming and works in translation, and builds a community centered on the celebration and protection of freedom of creative expression.

Over the 120 free programs, 2024 saw an attendance of approximately 17,000 people tuning in online and in person. Equity is key to COA’s mission to build a just community through free arts programming. At the core of COA’s mission is the removal of a key barrier of access: price. By providing free community-based programming, COA ensures that access to world-class events and important conversations is not limited by income, geographic location, or barriers to accessibility. COA’s work advances equity through both content and representation on the Alphabet City stage.

DETAILS
To learn more, contact: contact@cityofasylumpittsburgh.org

What are your minimum and maximum group sizes?
1-20

Do you require visitors to pre-book?
Yes

Do you have group rates?
No

Do you pay commissions to travel advisors?
No

What languages do you offer your services in?
English

When are you open?
12:00-6:00pm

What accommodations do you make for people living with disabilities?
City of Asylum Pittsburgh offers a range of accessibility features, including a hearing assistive system and exclusive haptic Vibration Shirts—the only ones of their kind in a U.S. venue—allowing wearers to feel music through dynamic vibrations based on pitch, volume, and rhythm. Braille printing is available in-house, and on-demand video content includes captions. Select programs offer ASL interpretation, CART, and access to a sensory-safe space in the lower-level Word Cellar, all available upon request.

All public events are live streamed with professional engineering for high-quality audio and video. Captions and ASL interpretation are provided upon request.

A dedicated Community Engagement Manager oversees all accessibility services. They handle patron requests, schedule interpreters and captioners, manage front-of-house staff and volunteers, supervise the use of assistive technologies, and maintain all related equipment.