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.

White House offers Nicki Minaj call to answer vaccine Qs
The White House offered Wednesday to connect Nicki Minaj with one of the Biden administration's doctors to address her questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Trinidadian-born rapper's erroneous tweet alleging the vaccine causes impotence went viral.
Art Hounds recommend solo dance videos, architecture tours and opera outdoors
“What’s Out There Weekend” offers walking tours to explore the culture and design of public spaces in the Twin Cities, Opera Afuera fills Allianz Field with music by Latino artists and the McKnight dance fellows premiere their solo dance videos.
This thoughtful, profound thriller centers on identity and its many layers
Amanda Jayatissa's “My Sweet Girl” is a twisty psychological thriller — but also a nuanced examination of identity as its Sri Lankan American heroine struggles with a murder that may not have happened.
Hispanics and Latinos are the biggest moviegoers. The big screen doesn't reflect that
Nearly 20 percent of Americans are Latino or Hispanic and they buy more movie tickets per capita. But a new report says just 7 percent of all lead characters in 2019's top-grossing films were Hispanic or Latino.
Walking through 'The Country of Others'
In her new novel, “In the Country of Others,” Leila Slimani explores what it means to be an outsider. Her characters fight to establish their own identities while their country, Morocco, does the same.
Host Kerri Miller kicked off the fall season of Talking Volumes with a conversation with novelist Lauren Groff, whose latest book is “Matrix.”
Colson Whitehead's latest gives readers a half-crook you'll wholly love
The versatile novelist moves away from the heavier themes that won him a brace of Pulitzer Prizes in Harlem Shuffle, a heist caper starring a mostly-upright furniture salesman with a criminal streak.
Monkey thieves, drunk elephants — Mary Roach reveals a weird world of animal 'crime'
Roach researched animal misbehaviors for her new book, “Fuzz.” Though animals are all but charged with crimes when they run afoul of human values, she learns, they often have the last laugh.