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.

'Bright Precious Thing' encompasses memories unleashed by #MeToo movement
Like most good memoirs, Gail Caldwell's latest is a reassessment of life choices, roads taken and others foregone. "At some point you shuffle the cards and call the deck a life," she writes.
New book teaches kids 'How to Solve a Problem' like a rock climber would
Ashima Shiraishi may be one of the most talented rock climbers in the world, but lofty titles aside, she wants kids to know that most of climbing — and life — is "just falling."
Theater student gets supersized attention after superhero video goes viral
College theater student Julian Bass got big affirmation for his video where he morphs into his favorite superheroes. He talks with NPR's Scott Detrow about his sudden fame — and his love for Spider-Man.
For fantasy fans looking for their next book series
Bookseller Jody Hardy recommends a series that has drawn comparisons to the works of Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin.
Twin Cities Oromo community mourns cultural icon, takes up his song
All this week, members of the Twin Cities’ Oromo community have been mourning the loss of a cultural icon: A singer and activist who was a leading voice in the fight for his people’s civil rights in Ethiopia.
New book explores cycles and whiplash of Minneapolis history
Journalist Tom Weber has published a new biography of the City of Lakes. He explores the history of Minneapolis and examines the repetition and rhyme of the city’s understanding of its past.
Pitch-perfect 'Mexican Gothic' ratchets up the dread
Silvia Moreno-Garcia's latest is true Gothic horror; set in 1950s Mexico in a creepy, isolated house where a young bride believes her new husband is poisoning her, and that ghosts walk through walls.
A doctor confronts medical errors — and flaws in the system that create mistakes
Dr. Danielle Ofri says medical errors are more common than most people realize: "If we don't talk about the emotions that keep doctors and nurses from speaking up, we'll never solve this problem."
Rudolfo Anaya, a founding father of Chicano literature, dies at 82
Anaya's 1972 classic Bless Me, Ultima — about a young Mexican American boy and his curandera mentor in New Mexico in the 1940s — inspired a generation of Chicano writers.