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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.

Robert Duvall, Oscar-winning actor and 'Godfather' mainstay, dead at 95

Robert Duvall, Oscar-winning actor and 'Godfather' mainstay, dead at 95

Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor whose classic roles included the wily confidant of the first two “Godfather” movies, had died at age 95. He first gained notice for a small part as the reclusive neighbor in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
by The Associated Press

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MN Shortlist, Feb. 13–19: Love songs, hard truths and a long winter

MN Shortlist, Feb. 13–19: Love songs, hard truths and a long winter

February refuses to pick a lane. The week toggles between romance and reckoning, spectacle and intimacy: Valentine’s cabaret one night, Iron Range existentialism the next. From touring Ukrainian ballet to hometown roots tributes and museum shows that question the ground they stand on, these picks point somewhere to look when winter starts to drag.
by Jacob Aloi, Anika Besst, Alex V. Cipolle and Max Sparber

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A shared pulse: Minnesota musicians unite West African and Irish traditions

A shared pulse: Minnesota musicians unite West African and Irish traditions

A Minnesota band brings together West African drumming and Celtic melody on its debut album “Badenya,” finding a shared rhythmic language that bridges musical traditions from Guinea to Ireland.
by Jacob Aloi

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Art Hounds: A space this week for beauty and joy

Art Hounds: A space this week for beauty and joy

Art Hounds recommend “Fíodóireacht Bheirte / A Weaving of Two,” “Fiber, Fragment and Form" and “Nordic Echoes.”
by Emily Bright

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Indie bookstores provide readers with information, relief amid ICE surge 

Indie bookstores provide readers with information, relief amid ICE surge 

Twin Cities bookstores are responding to heightened fear around ICE activity by transforming their shops into hubs for community support, political understanding and emotional refuge, as readers turn to books, children’s resources and author fundraisers to navigate a climate of anxiety and resistance.
by Emily Bright

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James Van Der Beek, the 'Dawson's Creek' star who later mocked his own hunky persona, has died at 48

James Van Der Beek, the 'Dawson's Creek' star who later mocked his own hunky persona, has died at 48

James Van Der Beek, best known as Dawson on “Dawson’s Creek,” has died at 48, according to a statement on his Instagram. The post on Wednesday says he died earlier that day.
by The Associated Press

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Review: At the Guthrie, 'Macbeth' becomes a timely study in power and consequences

Review: At the Guthrie, 'Macbeth' becomes a timely study in power and consequences

Joe Dowling’s fast, dark, and stylistically charged “Macbeth” at the Guthrie turns Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy into a fierce meditation on ambition, violence and accountability, tracing how power corrodes its holders from the inside out.
by Alex V. Cipolle

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ICE enforcement and songs of protest

From street choirs and drummers to new tracks by Laamar and Bruce Springsteen, a new wave of protest music is rising in response to ICE operations. MPR News host Catharine Richert talks with The Current's Gannon Hanevold about how musicians are soundtracking resistance in Minnesota.
by Catharine Richert and Cari Dwyer

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