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.

Actress Markie Post of 'Night Court' dies at 70
Markie Post, who played the public defender in the 1980s sitcom “Night Court” and was a regular presence on television for four decades, has died. She was 70.
In 'Like Other Girls,' you can be — and play — whatever you want. Even football.
Britta Lundin's “Like Other Girls” follows Mara, a hot-tempered 6'2" high school sports star who's booted from basketball for brawling, but finds a new life and a new way of being on the football field.
Art exhibit is a COVID retreat with layers of meaning
When artist Candice Lin looked for ways to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, she began building. The resulting structure — part tent, part retreat and part history lesson — is now on display at the Walker Art Center. 
Here's where masks and vaccines are required in Minnesota
The highly contagious delta variant is spreading fast across the country, leading to a flurry of reinstated mask rules and mandatory vaccination announcements. Here’s where you’ll need to mask up in Minnesota, and which colleges and employers are requiring vaccines.
Art Hounds recommend magical, challenging theater and art
A new play “Aquilarres” weaves a magical political fantasy set during the Spanish Inquisition. A contemporary Minneapolis art show cedes everyone “the right to their own dystopinion.” Screen prints by Mai Tran reflect images from Vietnam and Mankato, Minn.
Osama bin Laden biography goes inside al-Qaida leader's final hideout
Journalist Peter Bergen visited bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, before it was demolished. His new book, “The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden,” draws on materials seized in the raid.