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.

Answering today's problems with yesterday's fairy tales
Jack Zipes thinks that answers to the major cultural and political quandaries of today can be found in the fairy tales of the past. Host Cathy Wurzer spoke with the celebrated University of Minnesota professor and “cultural excavator” about the history of fairy tales and his new press, Little Mole and Honey Bear.
Homemade and heartfelt gifts cheer both giver and receiver
Do you bake or craft? MPR News guest host Stephanie Curtis talks to people who are making gifts for the holidays as a way to relieve pandemic stress and pass on joy from the heart. 
Hanukkah isn't Jewish Christmas. Here's the story of the holiday and why we celebrate.
Jewish families haven't always given presents on Hanukkah — it only dates to the 1880s. Arthur Levine's kids' book “The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol” imagines a fanciful origin for the tradition.
Mario Vargas Llosa explores 1954 Guatemalan coup in new novel
Harsh Times, set in the 1950s, is historical fiction centering on events of a CIA-backed coup to overthrow Guatemala's democratically-elected government led by Jacobo Árbenz.
Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year
The selection follows "vax" as word of the year from the folks who publish the Oxford English Dictionary. And it comes after Merriam-Webster chose "pandemic" as tops in lookups last year on its online site.
'The Ghost Tracks' is heartwarming horror fiction
Celso Hurtado's YA horror novel combines a real San Antonio legend with classic elements of YA narratives to tell a story of friendship that explores the possibility of the supernatural.
'Jade Legacy,' final in the Green Bone Saga trilogy, is about endings
The Damocles threat Fonda Lee has let dangle over this entire series is that no one in these pages is ever safe — the world she has created is dangerous and everyone in it has a place where they end.
Fashion designer Virgil Abloh dies of cancer at 41
Virgil Abloh, a leading designer whose groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers in fashion and beyond, has died of cancer. He was 41.
Ask a Bookseller: What does it mean to be a monster? 
Emil Ferris's graphic novel "My Favorite Thing is Monsters" made a splash when came out in 2017, and it's still Richard Johnston's favorite title to recommend. "I'm always amazed when people don't know it because I love it so much," says Johnston, who runs Brookings Book Company in Brookings, S.D.