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.

This Minneapolis Indigenous Design Camp for teens is the first of its kind in the U.S.
Indigenous teens are participating in the first U.S. Indigenous Design Camp, where they craft architectural models and explore careers in architecture to address the underrepresentation of Native Americans in the field.
For some authors, finding their book on a “banned” list can feel almost like an accolade, putting them right there with classics like “The Bluest Eye” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” But the reality is, most banned books never get the kind of recognition or readership that the most famous ones do.
Twin Cities author releases children’s books celebrating Haitian language and music
On Saturday Djenane Saint Juste is sharing two children’s books she self-published in three languages: English, French and Haitian Creole, a language she was not allowed to learn in school.
This year’s longlist for the Booker Prize is here
Longtime writers Claire Messud, Percival Everett and Richard Powers join along with three debut novelists.
Robert Downey Jr. is returning to ‘Avengers’ films as a villain in 1 of Marvel's Comic-Con twists
Marvel Studios kicked off its return to San Diego Comic-Con with dancing Deadpool variants and a choir for a panel that included news about the next two “Avengers” films and surprise guests, including Harrison Ford. 
40 years after 'Purple Rain,' Prince’s band remembers how the movie came together
Before social media, the film “Purple Rain” gave audiences a peek into Prince’s musical life. Band members say the true genesis of the title song was much less combative than the version presented in the film.
Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Sweet Blue Distance’ and ‘The Frozen River’
Call the midwife: Jolie Hughes of Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, N.H., recommends two recent historical fiction books that both feature midwives — one real, one fictional — set at different points within American history.
From ‘Cork Truck’ to ‘Garden-Rainbow-Space-Mushroom-Whatever’: The Minnesota ArtCars Parade Celebrates 30 Years
In Minneapolis, children at Articulture’s ArtCar camp creatively transform a Toyota hatchback as part of a local tradition where art cars, decorated and driven daily, partake in a vibrant parade celebrating its 30th anniversary around Lake Harriet.
Critical DMs: The brat and the brät, or the semiotics of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
MPR News’ Max Sparber and Alex V. Cipolle discuss the presidential campaign in terms of aesthetic and generational coding, highlighting how Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, though close in age, symbolize different generations — Gen X and Boomer, respectively — through their public personas and stylistic choices.