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.

'Magic School Bus' author Joanna Cole dies at age 75
Author Joanna Cole, whose “Magic School Bus” books transported millions of young people on extraordinary and educational adventures, has died at age 75. Scholastic says Cole, a resident of Sioux City, Iowa, died Sunday.
Colin Jost of 'SNL' knows you're laughing at his 'Very Punchable Face'
SNL "Weekend Update" co-anchor Colin Jost acknowledges that his clean-cut image sometimes rubs people the wrong way. "When I get hurt or hit on camera," he says, "the audience really loves it."
'Inheritors' maps a complicated family tree through the centuries
Asako Serizawa's new novel is a tangle of interlocking stories about several generations of a Japanese family, beginning in 1868 and going all the way through to an imagined future in the 2030s.
Judge frees Mary Trump from gag order on new family tell-all
The president's niece is now free to speak publicly on her book, due to be released Tuesday, about the Trump family and how it shaped Trump's worldview.
The Thread: A return to a classic crime series
How are you doing on your summer reading list? Kerri Miller wants you to make space for a classic crime writer who was on the bestseller list 65 years ago.
'Glee' actor Naya Rivera's body recovered from California lake
Rivera was best known for her role as Santana Lopez, a take-no-prisoners cheerleader/singer on “Glee” for six seasons. That character was also an inspiration for young LGBTQ viewers.
Kelly Preston, actor and wife of John Travolta, dies at 57
Kelly Preston, who played dramatic and comic foil to actors ranging from Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire” to Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Twins,” died Sunday, husband John Travolta said. She was 57.
Take 'The Unadoptables' home for a rollicking adventure
Hana Tooke creates a memorable villain, Matron Gassbeek, who menaces the feisty orphans of The Unadoptables in the grand tradition of awful authority figures like Miss Trunchbull and Viola Swamp.
'Utopia Avenue,' the greatest sixties band that never was
David Mitchell's new novel chronicles the rise and fall of fictional 1960s psychedelic rock band. He says he was drawn to both the music and the "dark magic that was in the air" in that era.
You know how 'Survivor Song' will end. It's still horrifying.
Paul Tremblay's new novel, about a viral outbreak that locks down New England, hits close to home. Taking place over just a few hours, it's both a zombie horror tale and a focused, personal drama.