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.

Author Katie Hickman on the women of the American West
Old West mythology is full of dust-covered cowboys, lonesome gun slingers and gold-seeking prospectors. But if you only know the men’s side of the story, you only know part of it.
Bret Easton Ellis' first novel in more than a decade, 'The Shards,' is worth the wait
Hermetic, paranoid, sleek, dark — and with brief explosions of the sex and violence that have characterized Ellis' oeuvre — The Shards is a stark reminder that the author is a genre unto himself.
Art Hounds explore an artist’s legacy, and recommend a 'Haunting' play
This week’s Art Hounds recommend the spine-tingling play “The Haunting of Hill House” at Rochester Repertory Theatre and “Act III: Who the Heck is Hoffman?” a posthumous exhibit of painter Frank Hoffman’s life’s work, curated by a St. Paul artist.
Artistry Theater and Visual Arts is back on track, but offers a warning
Artistry, the Bloomington arts organization whose financial meltdown was recently profiled by MPR News, has received a bailout. The organization explains its plans to remain solvent, while also warning that what happened at Artistry could likely happen to other Minnesota arts organizations.
From the archives: Mary Doria Russell on what really happened at the O.K. Corral
This week, Big Books and Bold Ideas heads West. Friday, host Kerri Miller talks with Katie Hickman about her new book, which tells the tales of the women of the American West. To get you in the mood, this week’s archive is a conversation between Miller and Mary Doria Russell about her book, “Epitaph,” which investigates what really happened at the O.K. Corral.
Alan Page brings back 'Testify' exhibit to spark conversations on race
Alan Page is again sharing his popular and provocative exhibit of African American art and artifacts with the public. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the former Minnesota Supreme Court justice and his daughter about the importance of remembering America’s painful racist history.
U of M professors say Hamline admin compromised academic freedom
The University of Minnesota’s art history department says it is taking an unusual step of making public its criticisms of another school’s actions involving a professor. Hamline’s president has said the school does respect academic freedom, but not at the expense of students.