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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.

'Outlawed' frontiers of gender and sexuality beckon in this sly western

'Outlawed' frontiers of gender and sexuality beckon in this sly western

Critic Maureen Corrigan has been describing Anna North's new novel to friends as "‘The Handmaid's Tale’ meets ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.’" It's a glib tagline, but not without justification.
by Maureen Corrigan

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2021 Grammy Awards postponed due to coronavirus concerns

2021 Grammy Awards postponed due to coronavirus concerns

As Los Angeles experiences a significant increase in new COVID-19 infections, the Recording Academy and CBS have decided to postpone the annual music awards until March 14.
by Anastasia Tsioulcas

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Gatsby's great narrator 'Nick' finally gets his own backstory

Gatsby's great narrator 'Nick' finally gets his own backstory

Michael Farris Smith followed F. Scott Fitzgerald's "breadcrumbs" to write “Nick,” a prequel to “The Great Gatsby.” Revising the book, Smith was struck by the parallels between the 1920s and the 2020s.
by Steve Inskeep

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To 'Keep Sharp' this year, keep learning, advises neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta

To 'Keep Sharp' this year, keep learning, advises neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta

CNN's chief medical correspondent says it's never too late to develop new brain pathways. Even small changes, like switching up the hand you use to hold your fork, can help optimize brain health.
by Terry Gross

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Ep. 5: Looking back and looking forward

Ep. 5: Looking back and looking forward

Welp. We made it. It's 2021 in The Warming House, and everywhere else for that matter. We look back at a few greats we lost in 2020, explore some “steady” classic country, how to pick the perfect glasses-friendly masks, and a little “jerk” trivia.
by Nina Moini and Sean McPherson

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3 Grammy contenders share outrage at all-white category, decline nominations

3 Grammy contenders share outrage at all-white category, decline nominations

The Okee Dokee Brothers, Alastair Moock and Dog on Fleas — three of five acts nominated in the best children's album category — share their equity-based rationalizations for declining the ballot.
by Mandalit del Barco

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Singer Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers dies at 78

Singer Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers dies at 78

Gerry Marsden, lead singer of the 1960s British group Gerry and the Pacemakers that had such hits as “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and the song that became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” has died. He was 78.
by The Associated Press

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Struggling to discuss tough topics with a kid? Here are books that might help

Struggling to discuss tough topics with a kid? Here are books that might help

If you feel daunted by the responsibility of shepherding a child through difficult times, don't feel alone: "I'm afraid of those moments as a parent, too," says picture book author Matt de la Peña.
by Audie Cornish

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'Where are the women?': Uncovering the lost works of female Renaissance artists

'Where are the women?': Uncovering the lost works of female Renaissance artists

A nonprofit has identified 2,000 works by women artists — art that had been gathering dust in Italy's public museums and in damp churches. It's also supported restoration of 70 works from the 16th to 20th centuries.
by Sylvia Poggioli

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Ask a Bookseller: 'Gods of the Upper Air'

Ask a Bookseller: 'Gods of the Upper Air'

The book explores the work of Franz Boaz, founder of cultural anthropology, and a circle of women scientists whose work 100 years ago helped inform our notions of identity today.
by Emily Bright

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