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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.

Dropkick Murphys, local bands to play free concert at Alex Pretti memorial

Dropkick Murphys, local bands to play free concert at Alex Pretti memorial

Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey says the band will visit the Minneapolis site where federal agents killed Alex Pretti and perform a free acoustic set at an anti-ICE fundraiser there, arguing the killing represents a profound shift in American society and that musicians should speak out about it.
by Alex V. Cipolle

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‘Winning hearts and minds’: How protest signs shaped the anti-ICE movement in Minnesota

‘Winning hearts and minds’: How protest signs shaped the anti-ICE movement in Minnesota

Minnesota has seen an explosion of art made in response to ICE’s presence. Perhaps more than any other art form, artists and designers have made protest posters and signs en masse. “There’s never been a viable movement for social change without the arts as central to the movement,” one art historian says.
by Alex V. Cipolle

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University of Minnesota expert helped make animated beavers in ‘Hoppers’ true to life

Emily Fairfax has spent the past decade studying beavers and how they change landscapes by altering the flow of rivers and streams. She spent five years working with a Pixar animation team to make sure the movie accurately portrays the furry rodents.
by Kirsti Marohn

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How historians are documenting ICE enforcement in Minnesota

How historians are documenting ICE enforcement in Minnesota

As more federal officers leave the state, the Morning Edition team wondered how historians might document this moment. The Minnesota Historical Society’s Director of Collections, Cecily Marcus, joined Cathy Wurzer with answers.
by Cathy Wurzer and Gracie Stockton

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Indigenous film festival coming to Fargo

Indigenous film festival coming to Fargo

The Northern Plains Indigenous Film Festival debuts April 17 at the historic Fargo Theatre in Fargo, N.D. The inaugural event will celebrate Native storytelling and promote creative careers.

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'We thought we'd invite the guys, too': Team USA hockey players join Connor Storrie on 'SNL'

'We thought we'd invite the guys, too': Team USA hockey players join Connor Storrie on 'SNL'

This time it was Hilary Knight’s turn to provide a big laugh — with an assist from the “Saturday Night Live” writers — in the wake of a weeklong dust-up involving the United States women and men’s Olympic gold medal-winning hockey teams.
by The Associated Press

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MN Shortlist, April 27 – March 5: Winter pushback, origin stories and returns

MN Shortlist, April 27 – March 5: Winter pushback, origin stories and returns

This week’s lineup leans into revision and return — classic scores revisited, origin myths recast, intimate confessionals shared in big rooms — each offering its own way to reconsider the stories we inherit.
by Jacob Aloi, Anika Besst, Alex V. Cipolle and Max Sparber

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This novel about family drama is so good you may want to re-read it immediately

This novel about family drama is so good you may want to re-read it immediately

Allegra Goodman's new novel is called “This Is Not About Us,” but critic Maureen Corrigan says that title is coy: Readers are bound to see aspects of themselves and their families in these pages.
by Maureen Corrigan

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