Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

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.

A cool piece of art: Minnesotans flock to Mpls. park in search of frozen cave man sculpture

A cool piece of art: Minnesotans flock to Mpls. park in search of frozen cave man sculpture

It was originally a commissioned piece for an ad agency. But once the agency was done with Zug Zug (that’s the cave man’s name), one of the artists decided now was the perfect time for him to go out into the world. Zug Zug gives people “something else to talk about, and also something to explore and look at, besides what's going on with our TVs and phones," Zach Schumack said.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
‘Sí se puede’: Minnesota’s fast-growing Latino community is layered and complex

‘Sí se puede’: Minnesota’s fast-growing Latino community is layered and complex

Latinos in Minnesota are a diverse and growing community. Recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the community is about 300,000 — more than six times the size just three decades ago.
by Kathryn Styer Martinez

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
'Aftershocks' tells of a reckoning with the self — and with memory

'Aftershocks' tells of a reckoning with the self — and with memory

Writer Nadia Owusu has lived many lives. Her nonlinear memoir, centered on the idea of physical and metaphorical earthquakes, is about all of the parts of what is her single, complex life.
by Ilana Masad

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Mille Lacs Band leader: ‘We will be stronger’ after pandemic

Mille Lacs Band leader: ‘We will be stronger’ after pandemic

The leader of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe praised her community on Tuesday for showing resilience during what she called “one of the darkest times in modern history.”
by Kirsti Marohn

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
There's not a single off note in 'That Old Country Music'

There's not a single off note in 'That Old Country Music'

In his new story collection, Kevin Barry proves to be a master at evoking the landscapes of both western Ireland and the human heart; he seems to have an innate sense of why people do what they do.
by Michael Schaub

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Ep. 6: Cooling down and pressing on

Ep. 6: Cooling down and pressing on

We covered a lot of ground this week in The Warming House. Starting on a cool note Waxahatchee's album "St. Cloud," gathering essential advice from Sanni Brown on homeschooling, talking about furry friends with The Uptown Veterinarian and getting a much needed Silver Lining from the executive director of The Warming House music venue in Minneapolis, Brianna Lane — who played live! Remember live music?
by Nina Moini, Sean McPherson and Tiffany Hanssen

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
To adapt 'After the Rain,' artists cross all kinds of boundaries

To adapt 'After the Rain,' artists cross all kinds of boundaries

A new graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's story "After the Rain" sets straightforward art against scattered, skewed panels to produce a sense of primal struggle between order and chaos.
by Etelka Lehoczky

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
'Ambitious Girl' reminds kids: Your dreams are not a drawback

'Ambitious Girl' reminds kids: Your dreams are not a drawback

Activist and author Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, has written a children's book called “Ambitious Girl” in the hope that no young woman in the next generation will have her dreams characterized as a liability.
by Michel Martin

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!