Ithaca City of Asylum
Providing refuge for persecuted writers and artists since 2001
Category: Human rights
Afghan filmmaker opens eyes and touches hearts during Ithaca visit
Filmmaker Sahraa Karimi, the first female chair of the Afghan Film Organization who fled when the Taliban seized power in 2021, spent three days in Ithaca as a guest of Ithaca City of Asylum.
Read MoreAndrey Kurkov in conversation August 12
What can fiction do that journalism can’t? ICOA presents a conversation with Ukrainian author and human rights advocate Andrey Kurkov and writer, editor, and translator Boris Dralyuk.
Read MorePedro Molina wins Havel human rights prize
Molina, who came to Ithaca as a guest of ICOA in 2018, has been awarded the Human Rights Foundation’s Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent.
Read MoreSept. 23: DISSIDENCE: Exiled writers on resistance and risk
City of Asylum writers in residence in Ithaca, Pittsburgh, and Detroit will share their experiences in “DISSIDENCE: Exiled Writers on Resistance and Risk” on Friday, September 23, 7 p.m. at the Community School of Music and Arts. Timed for Banned Books Week, the event also celebrates ICOA’s 20th birthday.
Read MorePodcast features asylum cities movement
The latest episode of the Peace Talks Radio public radio show and podcast looks at the cities of asylum movement. ICOA board member Jonathan Miller interviews former ICOA artist-in-residence Pedro X. Molina, City of Asylum Pittsburgh co-founder Henry Reese, and International Cities of Refuge Network program director Elisabeth Dyvik.
Read MoreYi Ping pens chapter on Chinese peace laureate
Poet and editor Yi Ping, ICOA’s first writer-in-residence, has contributed to a book celebrating the life and work of Liu Xiaobo, the late Chinese activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. The Journey of Liu Xiaobo: From Dark…
Read MoreSolidarity in times of crisis
We send you greetings in this time of collective isolation. We hope that you are healthy, safe, and supported by family and friends. Like many of you, we have been asking ourselves what we can do to pitch in, both…
Read MorePEN America launches free speech campaign
PEN America, an important partner of Ithaca City of Asylum, has launched a campaign called Free Speech 2020 to “catalyze action across the country to defend press freedom, fight online harassment, combat disinformation, and uphold protest rights.” The initiative seeks…
Read MoreExiled journalists share their stories
In an emotional discussion before a rapt audience, ICOA’s three most recent writers-in-residence shared their stories of adjustment and perseverance while living in exile in Ithaca. All three were forced to leave their home countries because of their work as…
Read MoreComing events look at migration and exile
Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) is taking part in several community events in November. Each seeks to expand the local conversation on migration, immigration, displacement, and exile. Three are part of the monthlong exhibition and event series How Did We…
Read MoreJoin our mailing list
Ithaca City of Asylum 