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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.

Can't find a chess set? You can thank 'The Queen's Gambit' for that

Can't find a chess set? You can thank 'The Queen's Gambit' for that

Who'd have guessed that a centuries-old game would become 2020's hard-to-find, must-have toy? Sales spiked after the release of the hit Netflix show, and now toy analysts are warning of a shortage.
by Neda Ulaby

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Holiday favorite British Arrows dodge the pandemic on both side of the Atlantic

Holiday favorite British Arrows dodge the pandemic on both side of the Atlantic

The British Arrows — the Walker Art Center annual holiday extravaganza — hit not one but two COVID-19-related speed bumps this year: Not only can’t audiences visit the Walker for hundreds of screenings of the best of British television commercials, but the awards competition it is based on in London was postponed because of the pandemic. But organizers still found a way forward.
by Euan Kerr

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COVID-19 brings opera singer home to the farm

COVID-19 brings opera singer home to the farm

The pandemic is forcing many people to change how and where they work. For one Minnesota-born opera singer, the COVID-19 threat meant a return to her roots and a surprising revitalization.
by Dan Gunderson

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2020's National Book Awards strive for inclusivity

This year's National Book Awards — announced in a first-ever virtual streaming ceremony — went mostly to writers of color, as the foundation that gives the prizes vowed to be more inclusive.
by Petra Mayer

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ChangeMakers: Brenda and Benay Child, channeling Ojibwe pride from one generation to the next

ChangeMakers: Brenda and Benay Child, channeling Ojibwe pride from one generation to the next

University of Minnesota history professor Brenda Child says her mother taught her to be proud of her Red Lake Ojibwe heritage, something she strives to pass on to her two children. Daughter Benay Child, 20, is taking that love of Ojibwe stories and language to create art and better connect with her ancestors. 
by Christine T. Nguyen

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Art Hounds: New play creates space for empathy, virtually

Art Hounds: New play creates space for empathy, virtually

This week: the Empathy Project from Full Circle Theater, All My Relations Arts’ “Bring Her Home: Sacred Womxn of Resistance” exhibit, and Strike Theater’s One Minute Film Festival.
by Emily Bright

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ChangeMakers: Marlena Myles, educating through art and innovation

ChangeMakers: Marlena Myles, educating through art and innovation

Marlena Myles is a self-taught professional artist. Her art leverages technology to create immersive interaction that engages and educates people about the language, history and spirituality of her tribe, the Dakota people.
by Kathryn Styer Martinez

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Lin Enger's new novel delves into truth, lies and the apocalypse

Lin Enger's new novel delves into truth, lies and the apocalypse

Lin Enger says his own obsession with the rapture developed over the years, as did a story he first set out to write three decades ago. “American Gospel” is set in the 1970s but has an eerie ring of today.
by Euan Kerr

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