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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.

Artist and tour guide keeps the old ways of bookmaking alive

Artist and tour guide keeps the old ways of bookmaking alive

In these times of publishing on demand, Laura Brown at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis teaches the old-fashioned ways of bookmaking.
by Lukas Levin

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'Inherited Ground' exhibit examines one family's generations of women artists

'Inherited Ground' exhibit examines one family's generations of women artists

Peggy Thompson is a painter, and her daughter Maggie Thompson is a multimedia artist known for her textile and beadwork. Together, they created an exhibit for the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum about plants and their family relationship.
by Nina Moini and Ellen Finn

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Minnesota artists struggle to keep creating as costs rise

Minnesota artists struggle to keep creating as costs rise

While wages statewide have largely kept pace with inflation, artists say rising material costs and cautious consumer spending are making already-uncertain careers even harder to sustain.
by Lukas Levin

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A new coming-of-age novel by Chang-rae Lee examines how we become who we are

A new coming-of-age novel by Chang-rae Lee examines how we become who we are

There’s something about the first time you leave your parents for summer camp that changes everything. Chang-rae Lee’s new novel, “A Tender Age,” captures one boy’s passage from childhood to adolescence and asks questions about how we become who we are.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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'Terrifying': Crop artist speaks out after harassment over anti-Trump '8647' piece

'Terrifying': Crop artist speaks out after harassment over anti-Trump '8647' piece

Tamara Sawyer told MPR News that her viral “8647” crop art submission meant “Impeach Trump… I don't want him dead.” She was subjected to harassment and doxing online.
by Alex V. Cipolle and Sam Stroozas

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MN Shortlist Sept. 4-10: Grand Portage National Monument artist, Nina Simone at Pillsbury, Penumbra’s 50th and more

MN Shortlist Sept. 4-10: Grand Portage National Monument artist, Nina Simone at Pillsbury, Penumbra’s 50th and more

The first artist-in-residence at northern Minnesota’s national monument, a civil rights era musical play at Pillsbury House + Theatre and Penumbra Center for Racial Healing’s world premiere of “Mothership” are among this week’s picks.
by Alex V. Cipolle, Chandra Colvin, Emily Bright and Sam Stroozas

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'Damage happened here.' In Marlon James' new novel, the violence has a point

'Damage happened here.' In Marlon James' new novel, the violence has a point

NPR's Juana Summers talks with award-winning author Marlon James about his new book, “The Disappearers,”the story of a brutal attack on a group of gay men in Jamaica and its aftermath.
by Sarah Handel, Juana Summers and Jeffrey Pierre

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Community land trusts: A different way to own land and build community power

Community land trusts: A different way to own land and build community power

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how community land trusts work, why collective ownership matters and what the model can offer communities across Minnesota.
by Angela Davis and Cari Dwyer

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