City of Asylum
City of Asylum Las Vegas was founded in 2001, the first program of its kind in the United States. Groups in Ithaca, New York and New York City have since formed similar programs. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hosts a remarkable and nationally renowned program, and we work closely with sibling programs at Harvard University and others via the Artists at Risk Connection.
The idea of asylum cities follows calls from Salman Rushdie and BMI’s friend and advisor Wole Soyinka for cities around the world to take in imperiled writers. A City of Asylum is a free space, unfettered by censorship or political repression, in which writers who have undergone such hardship may safely practice their craft.
