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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.

State Fair officials debating masks, other precautions as COVID cases rise

State Fair officials debating masks, other precautions as COVID cases rise

With a scheduled open on Aug. 26, fair officials have not yet made decisions on restrictions or mask requirements, but there's growing concern among health experts about gatherings of large groups of people, even outdoors.
by Tim Nelson

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In this memoir, prison is a place — and a state of mind

In this memoir, prison is a place — and a state of mind

Novelist Hwang Sok-yong spent years in prison — a disruption that's reflected in the structure of his new memoir. It's a cinematic, riveting story that captures the struggles of his life and career.
by Thúy Đinh

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Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd cancels season due to COVID

The music festival, which returned this summer in Brainerd, Minn., with live in-person performances, has canceled its season and all related activities after two artists tested positive for COVID-19. The concerts had been scheduled to run through Aug. 22.

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All might not end too well in Mona Awad's new novel

All might not end too well in Mona Awad's new novel

In “All's Well,” a theater professor in chronic pain, ignored by doctors, believes putting on one of Shakespeare's least popular plays will renew her — and then three mystery men offer her a cure.
by Kristen Martin

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New Native-led grant program targets philanthropy inequity

New Native-led grant program targets philanthropy inequity

Nationwide, less than 0.3 percent of philanthropy goes to Native American groups. A Duluth-based foundation is taking aim at that inequity with a new project that's designed to support the work of Native people who are already working to help their communities.
by Dan Kraker

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Actress Markie Post of 'Night Court' dies at 70

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.
by The Associated Press

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In 'Like Other Girls,' you can be — and play — whatever you want. Even football.

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.
by Alethea Kontis

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Art exhibit is a COVID retreat with layers of meaning

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. 
by Euan Kerr

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Here's where masks and vaccines are required in Minnesota

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.
by Grace Birnstengel and Nancy Yang

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