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.

For Earth Day, University of Minnesota Morris professor collects 'Prayers for a Feverish Planet'
University of Minnesota Morris professor Ann DuHamel put out a call for compositions inspired by climate change. She received more than 170 pieces from musicians in 35 countries and will perform some of them this weekend.
Novelist Don Winslow on going home
Don Winslow is launching another masterful trilogy. This time, he relies on Greek literature to inspire an epic crime saga that follows the journey of a crime family from Rhode Island, where Winslow himself grew up.
Hazel Belvo on why stamps are a good way to celebrate the work of George Morrison
Friday, April 22, the U.S. Postal Service will honor George Morrison by releasing stamps featuring his work. Morrison is one of the nation’s greatest modernist artists and founding figure of Native American modernism. Hazel Belvo was married to George Morrison. She is a painter based both in Minneapolis and Grand-Marais and she speaks with Cathy Wurzer about Morrison's life, work and love of stamps.
Art Hounds: Art studios open for spring visitors and a musical stages in a car dealership
The weather may be more like winter, but one spring art tour commences this weekend in the Driftless Region with the Bluff Country Studio Art Tour. In Zumbrota, Art Hounds recommend the book launch-concert for Becky Schlegel’s “The Lullaby Collection.” And, Minneapolis Musical Theater stages “Hands on a Hardbody,” about vying to win a new truck, at a Roseville auto dealer.
Stephanie Trudeau discusses the upcoming book, The Dylan Tapes: Friends, Players, and Lovers Talkin’ Early Bob Dylan, with host Cathy Wurzer.
Racial trauma expert Resmaa Menakem on 'The Quaking of America'
Over the past few years, Minneapolis trauma expert and author Resmaa Menakem has been in the national spotlight. Tuesday at 9 a.m., MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Menakem about his latest book, “The Quaking of America.”
From the archives: Don Winslow on the war on drugs
As we anticipate a conversation with novelist Don Winslow this Friday, we throwback to the last time he spoke with MPR News host Kerri Miller. In 2019, they discussed the conclusion to his trilogy that detailed the drug cartels and the lives of the investigators who pursue them.
Tamales are delicious, but are hard work to make, particularly on your own. Food writer Mecca Bos tells us about how the creation of this iconic dish helped one first-generation Mexican American create a community while also providing a link with his distant family.
Relief efforts boost interest in Pysanky and a storied Minneapolis shop
The Ukrainian Gift Shop has seen a rush of orders from churches and other groups making and selling decorative Ukrainian eggs to raise funds for humanitarian relief in Ukraine.