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.

'Brotherless Night' explores a young Sri Lankan Tamil woman's life, love and idealism set against civil war
Twin Cities writer V.V. Ganeshananthan didn’t expect her second novel to take so long to write. But after almost two decades “Brotherless Night,” a tale set against the Sri Lankan civil war, is drawing critical acclaim. It’s a depiction of a determined young Tamil woman struggling with life, love and family even as her country descends into chaos.
Q&A: Penumbra's Lou Bellamy on his brother Terry's legacy
Local actor and director Terry Bellamy has died from COVID at the age of 70. Bellamy was a founding member of the Penumbra and Mixed Blood theaters, as well as a two-time Drama Critic's Circle Award-winner. MPR News spoke to Lou Bellamy, Bellamy’s brother and longtime collaborator. Lou Bellamy is also founder and co-artistic director of the Penumbra.  
Rep. María Isa brings hip-hop to the Minnesota House
The same day the newly elected Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega was sworn into office, she also released a hip-hop EP, Capitolio, inspired by her campaign run, motherhood, community, and day-to-day living.
Inside Minneapolis band Creeping Charlie's rapid growth
Word of Creeping Charlie has spread over the Twin Cities music scene as quick as the evergreen creeper. On Friday, Jan. 20, they played First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2022 show.
Listen to a Lunar New Year 'Celebration' with Gao Hong
Minnesota musician and composer Gao Hong is world-renowned for her skill on the pipa, a traditional Chinese string instrument with a wide-ranging, versatile sound. Gao and chamber music organization ProMusica are scheduled to perform a Lunar New Year concert in New Ulm next weekend.
'Avatar' marks 6 straight weeks at No. 1 as it surpasses $2 billion in ticket sales
James Cameron's “Avatar: The Way of Water” led ticket sales in movie theaters for the sixth straight weekend, making it the first film to have such a reign atop the box office since 2009's “Avatar.”
Ask a Bookseller: LA crime fiction at its best 
Patrick Millikin is a bookseller at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona, which specializes in mysteries, and the crime novel he’s been waiting for finally hit the shelves this month. It’s “Everybody Knows” by Edgar-award winning author Jordan Harper. 
While many ring in the Year of the Rabbit, Vietnam celebrates the cat
This Lunar New Year, the Vietnamese will observe a different animal in the zodiac, the cat. The reasons are murky: could be linguistics or the landscape — or maybe cats are just plain friendlier.
How Pit Stop found a country sound in the middle of the Twin Cities
From their Minneapolis practice space, band members talk about their first (barely) pre-pandemic show, their punk and indie roots and what’s influencing their upcoming album.  
Racism tears a Maine fishing community apart in 'This Other Eden'
In 1912, the 47 residents of Malaga Island were forcibly removed from their small, interracial community. Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Harding fictionalizes the story in a stunning new historical novel.