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 show must go on, wherever it is': Kyiv City Ballet to perform in Minneapolis
The Kyiv City Ballet left Ukraine to go on tour the day before the Russian invasion. The company has yet to return home. In fact, it extended its tour and will perform at Northrop Wednesday evening.
Their book is banned from dozens of districts, but has helped countless young readers
Writer and LGBTQ activist George M. Johnson spoke with Morning Edition about what's lost when books like their 2020 memoir “All Boys Aren't Blue” are banned from school libraries.
Author Colleen Hoover went from tending cows to writing bestsellers
The top-selling author in the country right now is a 42-year-old mom and former social worker who lives in the same small Texas town where she's spent practically her entire life.
Actor and comedian Leslie Jordan dead at 67
The Will & Grace actor died following a car crash this morning. Jordan's fame was on the rise as a social media star.
She survived a mass shooting — then created a graphic novel to help others
In Kindra Neely's debut graphic novel, “Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting,” she opens up about surviving a mass shooting and dealing with the aftermath.
In “Stay True,” author Hua Hsu confronts his grief over his friend’s death in an honest and raw way.
'Should I sacrifice my life to live half American?'
Historian Matthew Delmont paints a vivid and painful picture of life for Black Americans during World War II in his new book, “Half American.” Even as Black service members fought to win the war overseas, they couldn’t win the war of equality at home.
Minnesota choir looks toward a 'More Hopeful Tomorrow' in opening concert
The Singers will perform Damien Geter’s “Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow” on Saturday. Originally commissioned by The Washington Chorus in 2020, Geter used a combination of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, spirituals and the words of Walt Whitman to write the piece that reflects on the cataclysmic events of that year.
In the haze of 'Midnights,' Taylor Swift softens into an expanded sound
On Swift's 10th and most challenging album, she and producer Jack Antonoff push her voice in new directions, rethinking the sonic rhetoric of first-person storytelling and shaking off old habits.