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.

Iconic French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard dead at 91
French media say director Jean-Luc Godard, an icon of French New Wave film who revolutionized popular 1960s cinema, has died. He was 91. Multiple French media outlets confirmed that they had learned the news of his passing from his relatives on Tuesday.
Minn. artist has deep roots in Chicano art movement
Works by Jimmy Longoria hang in the office of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and in Cheech Marin’s private collection. To mark Hispanic Heritage Month, a Longoria design will adorn Minnesota Twins T-shirts that will be given away at Tuesday’s game. 
Five takeaways from the 2022 Emmy awards
The 2022 Emmys handed out awards to “Succession,” “Squid Game,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The White Lotus,” “Ted Lasso,” Lizzo's “Here's To The Big Grrrls” and others. We've got five things you need to know.
Longest-serving Minnesota Orchestra concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis dies at 70
Jorja Fleezanis, Minnesota Orchestra’s longest-serving concertmaster and the second woman to serve as concertmaster in a major U.S. orchestra at the time of her appointment in 1989, has died in her home in northern Michigan at 70.
From the archives: Karen Armstrong on ‘The Lost Art of Scripture’
The 2022 season of Talking Volumes launches this week with Karen Armstrong and her new book, “Sacred Nature: Restoring our Ancient Bond with the Natural World.” So we thought it only appropriate to make this week’s dip into the archives the last time Armstrong was on the Talking Volumes stage. It was in 2019, when she joined host Kerri Miller to discuss “The Lost Art of Scripture.”
Selby Avenue JazzFest returns to St. Paul
Organizers say community members play a key role in creating the lineup for the jazz festival.
Think about it: how often do you find a book that has both magical creatures and modern technology?
'If I Survive You' is a sweeping portrait of a family's fight to make it in America
Jonathan Escoffery's If I Survive You is an intensively granular, yet panoramic depiction of what it's like to try to make it — or not — in this kaleidoscopic madhouse of a country.
Science journalist Ed Yong on how animals sense the world
Award-winning science journalist Ed Yong is out with a new book about the ways animals perceive their surroundings. In “An Immense World,” he shares fascinating stories that help us understand and appreciate the many creatures who share the planet with us but live in entirely different sensory spheres.
Gabby Rivera: Writing the story of Marvel's first queer Latina superhero
In Marvel's "America," Gabby Rivera wrote a superhero who's queer, Latina, and punches portals across dimensions. She shares why it's empowering to write characters that mirror her identity.