Arts and Culture

Performers such as Gladys Knight or the Irish band U2 usually would be headlining a concert for thousands. But this Sunday the tables will be turned as they and other artists will be the ones celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors.

MPR News asked libraries across the state what their most popular adult and children’s books were, and the answers may surprise you. While some Minnesotans are focused on the practical, checking out driver’s manuals or dog training guides, Duluthians are reading about themselves.

A new exhibit, "To Your Raised Head - Stories of Immigration", showcases a tapestry of experiences from Southwest Asian and North African immigrants in Minnesota who have had to rebuild home in the face of war, political upheaval, and loss.

Broadway-legend-in-training Stephen Sondheim was a college sophomore in 1948 when his musical Phinney's Rainbow was produced — and recorded — at Williams College in Massachusetts.

Patrick Xavier Clark has been charged with murder in connection with Takeoff’s death. Takeoff was killed last month outside a bowling alley in Houston.

David Treuer’s first novel, “Little,” was republished by Graywolf Press in November. What does Treuer think of his inaugural work now, almost 30 years after it was first released? And how has he grown as both a writer and a person? That’s the conversation on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas with host Kerri Miller.

Circus Juventas has been selected by Cirque du Soleil as part of their NexGen talent development program.

Sam Halter-Rainey at the Book Loft at German Village in Columbus, Ohio, knew right away what his book recommendation of the year was: the novel “Hide” by Kiersten White.

“Field Notes: 7 Truths about the Rural” highlights rural Minnesota artists and issues for an urban audience at Form+Content Gallery in Minneapolis. “Spiked!” brings music, comedy and holiday cheer to the Granada Theater in Minneapolis over the next two weeks. Four female photographers stretch and innovate the form in “Surface Tension” at Olson Gallery at Bethel University.

Her death was announced on the band’s social media accounts. No cause of death or other details were immediately provided, but a family statement said she “passed away peacefully at hospital this morning” with family around her after a “short illness.”