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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.

Out of prison but still trapped: Examining the 'afterlife' of incarceration

There are 45,000 laws, policies and administrative sanctions in the U.S. that target people with criminal records. Reuben Jonathan Miller researches how they affect people's lives in Halfway Home.
by Terry Gross

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Farcical 'Life Of The Mind' skewers academic life and adjunct 'hell'

Farcical 'Life Of The Mind' skewers academic life and adjunct 'hell'

A graduate student is teaching four courses while also trying to finish a dissertation. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Christine Smallwood's new novel one of the wittiest she's read in a long time.
by Maureen Corrigan

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With 'Fierce Poise,' Helen Frankenthaler poured beauty onto canvas

With 'Fierce Poise,' Helen Frankenthaler poured beauty onto canvas

Abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler poured pools of highly diluted pigments onto her raw canvases. Biographer Alexander Nemerov says her paintings are "about feeling the world."
by Susan Stamberg

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Elton John opens his Oscar night party to all this year

Elton John opens his Oscar night party to all this year

Attending Elton John's long-running Oscar-night party has always been one of the hardest tickets to get. Now you can go — if you have $20.
by The Associated Press

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Ep. 15: Friends, not food!

Ep. 15: Friends, not food!

Spring officially sprung this week and things were definitely poppin' in The Warming House. Between the equinox, Norwuz (Persian New Year), #meatlessmarch, NCAA basketball madness, and our very own Great Minnesota Burger Bracket, we were certifiably giddy.
by Tiffany Hanssen, Nina Moini and Sean McPherson

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'A Beginner's Guide To America' shows us the States through new eyes

'A Beginner's Guide To America' shows us the States through new eyes

Roya Hakakian was a teenager when she came to the United States from Iran. She says she hopes her book will help native-born Americans see all the small signs of democracy they don't usually notice.
by Scott Simon

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Ask a bookseller: A picture book about recognizing value where others don’t

Ask a bookseller: A picture book about recognizing value where others don’t

Zsamé Morgan travels across Minneapolis and St. Paul with her bookmobile, Babycake’s Book Stack. She is excited to spread the word about the picture book “Daisy” by Jessixa Bagley, which was published at the start of March. 
by Emily Bright

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