Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) is pleased to welcome Arthur Groys as its ninth resident writer. He is in Ithaca with his family as an Artist Protection Fund Fellow in residence at Ithaca College and ICOA.

Arthur has written for and directed several popular TV and radio shows for children and family audiences in Russia. He has also been an actor, puppeteer, stage director, and acting instructor.

“As a literary artist, I am always making up stories and adventures for my characters, with challenges and obstacles,” he said. “Now my family and I have become characters ourselves. It is not easy! But I am very thankful to everyone who has helped us come and stay here in Ithaca.”

Arthur studied classical Russian drama and puppetry and has written plays for children and teenagers that have been staged in Russia and abroad. He has also written books of comedic and fantastic poetry, sketches, stories, and novels for children and teenagers. Arthur speaks several languages and often performs in English or French.

In 2022, with the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine War and ongoing political turbulence in Russia, he was awarded a prestigious Artist Protection Fund Fellowship, and subsequently fled to Israel, where he was granted the designation of Distinguished Artist. He and his family relocated to Ithaca in April 2024.

An initiative of the Institute of International Education, the Artist Protection Fund (IIE-APF) fills a critical unmet need by protecting threatened artists and placing them at welcoming host institutions in safe countries where they can continue their work and plan their futures. IIE-APF places these artists in safe havens for a full year and provides fellowship funding, mentoring, and inclusion in a comprehensive network of artistic and social support.

Founded in 2001, ICOA provides sanctuary to writers and artists whose works are suppressed, whose lives are threatened, whose cultures are vanishing, or whose languages are endangered. ICOA is an all-volunteer project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization affiliated with Cornell University, and a member of the International Cities of Refuge Network, which joins communities around the world advocating for freedom of expression.

ICOA is supported by individual donations and by generous grants from the Park Foundation, Cornell University, the Crime Victims & Sexual Assault Survivors Fund of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County.