Arts and Culture

MPR News has you covered with news and stories about local art and culture happenings across Minnesota.

Art Hounds: Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what's exciting in local art. You can explore arts events here, or become an Art Hound today.

Art Reviews: Our arts team offers insight on the latest in theater, music, visual arts and more. We explore the breadth of creativity and innovation found throughout Minnesota, offering audiences a deeper understanding of the works and artists shaping our cultural landscape. Read more here.

Art Friend: Everyone needs an art friend. Art Friend is a new segment with our arts team. Art spaces can feel exclusive and art can be confusing, obtuse, and even boring. But, especially with the right context, everyone can be a critic. So let us be your guide- your Art Friend. Listen or read Art Friend stories here.

Our arts coverage is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Spellshop’ by Sarah Beth Durst
Ellie Petres of The Book Garden in Bountiful, Utah, recommends “The Spellshop” by Sarah Beth Durst.
Celebrity photographer turns Mankato into a portrait studio for everyday people
When Los Angeles photographer Josh Madson moved back to Minnesota during the pandemic, he didn’t expect to embark on one of his largest projects yet. After a career spent photographing celebrities, he found himself in Mankato where he was inspired to create a large-scale photo collage of more than 5,000 people from the city he now calls home.
American democracy requires that we ’be architects, not arsonists’
Eboo Patel believes learning to value and tolerate diversity is the engine that drives just and equitable societies. Can America learn to do it before the social fabric is irrevocably torn? That’s the discussion on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, part of our Americans and Democracy series.
Art Hounds: 'Halloween Tree' provides family seasonal thrills
'Halloween Tree' provides family seasonal thrills; also: theater about mental health and a new version of a classic monster story.
‘My losses started the day I was born’: A poet on what it’s like to call Gaza home
Mosab Abu Toha was able to escape Gaza, along with his wife and three young children. The award-winning poet talks about parenting in war and the devastation of leaving his family and friends behind.