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.

'Nomadland' wins best picture at a socially distanced Oscars
Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” a wistful portrait of itinerant lives on open roads across the American West, won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao became the first woman of color to win best director and a historically diverse group of winners took home awards.
Embarrassed by your parents? 'Watercress' explores that universal kid experience
In the new book “Watercress,” a girl is initially ashamed when her immigrant parents stop the car to forage for watercress by the side of the road — until she learns more about her family's history in China.
'Curb' uses poetry to scrub at the wounds of Anti-Asian racism
Divya Victor's new book is a compilation of poems, memories, histories and essays, considering domestic terrorism against Asian Americans, in urgent words that spill out on the page like blood.
On Netflix, Leigh Bardugo's 'Shadow and Bone' celebrates a diverse Grishaverse
"I never want people to feel like fantasy and romance and magic and adventure belong to just one kind of person," the fantasy author says. A new Netflix series is adapted from her works.
This Sunday, visit 'PreachersNSneakers' for fashion, flexing and for-profit faith
In 2019 the PreachersNSneakers Instagram account started calling attention to famous preachers and their designer clothes. Ben Kirby, the no-longer anonymous person behind the account, has a new book.
'In Deeper Waters' is a frothy romantic confection
F.T. Lukens' earnest new seafaring romance follows a young prince desperate to hide his magical powers from the pirates who've kidnapped him — and the mysterious boy who comes to his rescue.
'What's Not to Love'? Only a few moments in this otherwise charming story
The married-in-real-life team of Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka have a new YA romance, about a toxic (maybe too toxic) high school rivalry that, of course, turns to love in the end.
Why did the chicken befriend the widow? Find out in this plucky Italian novella
An older woman living on a remote farm turns to an emotional-support hen for company. Sacha Naspini's newly translated novella is a slim volume, packed with unexpected secrets and epiphanies.
Amid sexual misconduct allegations, publisher suspends shipping of Blake Bailey book
Three former students and a publishing executive have alleged sexual misconduct by award-winner Blake Bailey, with two accusing the author of rape, according to reports. Bailey denies the allegations.