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.

From poverty to Stanford, memoir tells a physicist's remarkable tale
“A Quantum Life” is an important book to help understand the institutional hurdles that have kept science mostly white and male — and how the fire of inquiry can take root in a heart and lift it up.
Ibram X. Kendi recommends 6 books to help your kids understand race
Ibram X. Kendi has been reading a lot of books about "the human rainbow" to his daughter — so we asked him to recommend some books kids can read to gain a better understanding of race in America.
Author Michelle Singletary on managing your money during times of crisis
Host Angela Davis talks to Michelle Singletary, award-winning author, Washington Post columnist and frequent commentator on CNN and other national news networks about her latest book, “What to Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits.” 
A fresh look at the intent of the Second Amendment
In her new book, historian Carol Anderson says the Second Amendment is more about keeping guns away from Black people than enshrining a right to bear arms in the U.S. Constitution.
A Father's Day gift from Meghan to Harry is now a kids' book
For Prince Harry's first Father's Day, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, got him a bench — and wrote a poem about the moments she hoped her husband and their son would share together there. It’s now the basis for a children's book.
Art Hounds recommend art-based road trips in Minnesota
An Art Hounds road trip includes a stop at the Nemeth Art Center in Park Rapids, Minn. and the T. L. Solien exhibit “See the Sky.” Then it’s off to Ely and a children’s picture book written and illustrated by local residents, about a familiar scene during wildfire season.
Ask a Bookseller: 'The Netanyahus'
Hal Hlavinka of Community Bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y., says he's been telling everyone about a new novel by Joshua Cohen, out June 22: "The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family."
Author Lionel Shriver on her new book, ‘Should We Stay or Should We Go’
Is it better for life to end before it decays into something unrecognizable? That’s the question at the heart of Lionel Shriver’s new novel, which touches on themes of dementia, aging and how to die with dignity — but in a surprisingly playful way.