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.

'The Beast You Are' is smart, self-aware, fun, creepy, and strange
These Paul Tremblay stories — a wildly entertaining mix of literary horror, psychological suspense and science fiction — will be more than enough to make readers into immediate fans.
Art Hounds: Broadway, Shakespeare and 48-hour bands
This week, the Art Hounds recommend “A Chorus Line” by actors 55 and up, “Twelfth Night” in a parking lot and a music festival in St. Peter, Minn.
Nineties Black cinema returns to Minneapolis this summer
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, with the guidance of poet and New York Times bestseller Hanif Abdurraqib, is set to host a public summer screening series of five influential films from the ‘90s by Black filmmakers.
A lost world comes alive in 'Through the Groves,' a memoir of pre-Disney Florida
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anne Hull grew up in the rural interior of Central Florida during the 1960s and '70s. Her memoir evokes a land of perfect citrus, and the cruel costs of its harvest.
'The uniqueness of who we are': Minnesota’s Asian American art renaissance
The Asian American Renaissance (AAR), a significant pan-Asian arts organization in Minnesota that operated from 1992 to 2005, played an essential role in supporting Asian American artists and promoting social justice, leaving a lasting impact on the community despite its closure.
Hastings natives create graphic novel from difficult hometown history
A difficult chapter of Minnesota history is now being told in a graphic novel. “Hate Stings” lays out what happened to the author’s African American family in 1800s Hastings. Visitors at the recent Minnesota Con in Minneapolis got a preview.
'Barbie' is pretty in pink — but will she also be profitable?
Warner Bros. and Mattel set out to create a movie marketing machine — including more than 100 brand collabs and viral social media campaigns — to build excitement for the film’s July 21 release.
20 novels in 20 years: The recipe behind author David Housewright's private-eye series
David Housewright of St. Paul has received national recognition for his tales of murder and mayhem set in Minnesota. MPR News regional editor Euan Kerr talked with Housewright about his secret for keeping the same character interesting, book after book.