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.

'O' takes readers on a journey of abandonment and reclamation
In her third poetry collection, Zeina Hashem Beck is graceful her defiance of fitting self into a box. She embraces the multitudes – mother, citizen, poet, warrior – and presents herself as one whole.
It’s summertime and Minnesota Now is highlighting community gatherings across the state. Today host Cathy Wurzer talked with Wone and Youa Vang, the co-creators of the Little Asia Market popping up this weekend.
Old bank in Minneapolis to become an incubator for Black-owned businesses
An old, dilapidated bank building on 42nd and Lyndale Avenue is getting a new life. Anissa Keyes is turning the Camden Park State Bank into an incubator for Black-owned businesses. She gave MPR News host Tom Crann a tour of the space before its soft opening on July 11.
Why Alison Bechdel's 'Dykes to Watch Out For' is still popular after nearly 40 years
Alison Bechdel is the author of a comic strip that — nearly 40 years after its creation — is still getting attention. “Dykes To Watch Out For” ran from 1983 to 2008. It gained a worldwide cult following for its game-changing portrayal of American queer life set in Minneapolis.
Festival aims to celebrate Afro-Latino culture and fight 'erasure'
AfroLatinidad — Vibras de la Diaspora not only celebrates and embraces Afro-Latinidad, but also educates on what it means to be Latino.
From the archives: Author and activist Reginald Dwayne Betts on the power of books
This Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas will be a conversation between host Kerri Miller and Leila Mottley, who penned “Nightcrawling,” one of the hottest books this summer. As we anticipate that, enjoy this Talking Volumes from 2021 with poet, activist and author Reginald Dwayne Betts. Like Mottley, he brings the deep questions about being a Black person in America to scrutiny in the most beautiful and haunting ways.
'The Poet's House' is a droll coming-of-age story — and an absolute keeper of a novel
Jean Thompson's novel follows an insecure young woman as she's drawn into a clique of poets. “The Poet's House” is a story about the corrosive power of shame and the primal fear of sounding stupid.