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.

Teatro Latino remembered as its founder battles cancer
The pioneering theater company Teatro Latino staged its last show in the 1990s but is being remembered for its groundbreaking work as founding member Ana Maria Mendez faces terminal cancer.  
New graphic novel 'Celestia' wanders an Earth that's no longer home
Manuele Fior's latest, “Celestia,” is set on a far-future Earth, wracked by climate change — but the terrors of flood and fire stay under the surface of his dreamy, hazy, philosophical story.
Jackie Mason, comic who perfected amused outrage, dies at 93
Jackie Mason, a rabbi-turned-comedian whose feisty brand of standup comedy led him to Catskills nightclubs, West Coast talk shows and Broadway stages, has died. He was 93.
StoryCorps: As an Army Chorus member, he didn't carry a weapon. His job was to sing
Master Sgt. Alvy Powell Jr. sang opera at some of country's most decorated institutions during his 26 years in the U.S. Army Chorus. At StoryCorps, he told his sister that she's his inspiration.
Ask a Bookseller: A novel to spark book club conversation
Megan Wells of The Willow Bookstore in Perham, Minn. recommended “a beautiful, heartbreaking'“ novel, "If Only I Could Tell You" by Hannah Beckerman.
Free your home and the rest will follow
The Minimalists say a pared-down lifestyle doesn’t just free up space in your home — it frees up space in your life.
When your book publishes in a pandemic — authors talk about terrible timing
A league of unfortunate writers had their books come out in the height of the coronavirus crisis — there are even several online support groups for authors who published mid-pandemic.
Art Hounds celebrate summer performances, and an indoor escape from the heat
Walking Shadow Theatre Co. puts on “Reboot,” a virtual interactive play with puzzles. The Zephyr Theatre’s “Mamma Mia!” uses the St Croix River as a backdrop. Plus, a performance by Minneapolis singer Brooke Elizabeth.
Fascinating, mysterious 'Intimacies' doesn't let readers get close enough
Katie Kitamura's new novel follows an unnamed woman working as a translator at The Hague who works with war criminals — but can readers really know a narrator who remains resolutely unknown?