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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.

'Open' explores polyamorous relationships through personal experience

'Open' explores polyamorous relationships through personal experience

“Bustle” editor Rachel Krantz's memoir is a sincere and curious reckoning with the cultural messaging we all receive about gendered expectations and power dynamics in romantic and sexual relationships.
by Ilana Masad

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'Cost of Living' considers the real price of the U.S. health care system

'Cost of Living' considers the real price of the U.S. health care system

Emily Maloney's essay collection is an indictment of the exorbitant costs of staying alive in America, and the weight of being hounded by a debt that reduces your life to dollars and cents.
by Kristen Martin

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Art Hounds: Take your Valentine to the theater

Art Hounds: Take your Valentine to the theater

Bucket Brigade times the end of its 10th anniversary run of “Till Death: A Marriage Musical” to Valentine’s Day. Theatre in the Round stages “Marjorie Prime,” an award-winning play that brings a sci-fi lens to aging and memory. And singer/songwriter John Gorka performs at the State Theatre in Zumbrota.
by Emily Bright

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How the Method transformed film — and made acting more human

How the Method transformed film — and made acting more human

Method acting is more than mining personal experiences to play a character — or physically transforming for a role. Author Isaac Butler traces the history of the technique in “The Method.”
by Terry Gross

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Abraham Galloway is the Black figure from the Civil War you should know about

Abraham Galloway is the Black figure from the Civil War you should know about

Galloway escaped enslavement, became a Union spy and helped recruit thousands of Black soldiers to fight with the North, but his name has been largely left out of the Civil War narrative.
by Elizabeth Blair

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Omicron continues pain for event businesses in MN, still not back to normal

Omicron continues pain for event businesses in MN, still not back to normal

The live event and hospitality industries have been hit extremely hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. But they say they have been, for the most part, left out of the financial aid many others have received.
by Peter Cox

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'The Power of the Dog' and 'Dune' nab the most 2022 Oscar nominations

'The Power of the Dog' and 'Dune' nab the most 2022 Oscar nominations

Jane Campion's and Denis Villeneuve's films got the highest amount of nominations, 12 and 10 each. “Drive My Car,” from Japan, got nominated for both Best Picture and Best International Feature.
by Andrew Limbong

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Ask a Bookseller: 'See Me in the Wonder' is an affirmation of life after loss

Ask a Bookseller: 'See Me in the Wonder' is an affirmation of life after loss

Kathy Gray is the primary bookbuyer for Lark Toys in Kellogg, Minn., and she recommends "See Me in the Wonder," a picture book by a Wisconsin author and illustrator Laurel Fraher.
by Emily Bright

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Coming of age with three contemporary YA novels

Coming of age with three contemporary YA novels

In each of these stories — “Full Flight,” “Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman,” “Ophelia After All” — a girl stands at a junction in her life, on the brink of deciding who she wants to be.
by Caitlyn Paxon

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