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.

Ask a Bookseller: 'Mercy Falls'
Jerry Lenaz of The Cloak and Dagger Mystery Bookshop in Princeton, New Jersey recommends Minnesota writer William Kent Krueger’s mystery novel "Mercy Falls."
Art Hounds: Pandemic portraits in Winona
Plus a new jazz album from the High School for Recording Arts and jewelry by St. Paul artisan Peter Mielech.
3 steamy romance novels you can't miss
The pandemic might’ve stolen the “steamy” from your love life, but that’s what fiction is for! Here are three flirty fiction titles that may have been overlooked in this topsy-turvy year.
Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com pick 'pandemic' as their 2020 word of the year
On March 11, when the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, lookups for pandemic spiked hugely. On Merriam-Weber, searches were 115,806 percent higher than lookups experienced on the same date last year. On Dictionary.com, searches on the site for the word spiked more than 13,500 percent that day.