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.

'Mama Hissa's Mice' creep through a dystopian future Kuwait
Saud Alsanousi's novel follows a group of Kuwaiti kids growing up in the 1980s — then jumps to a near future torn by sectarian violence. It's a resonant book that asks more questions than it answers.
In 'Some Of Us Are Very Hungry Now,' revelations morph into mirrors
Andre Perry's debut essay collection reads like a slightly fragmented memoir focused on the search for identity, the desire to write, and his constant sense of unease as a black man in Iowa City.
After comic Garry Shandling's death, Judd Apatow found Zen in his diaries
"He completely changed my life," Apatow says of his mentor. “It's Garry Shandling's Book,” which Apatow edited, explores the insecurities and personal trauma that Shandling turned into comedy.
Lindy West: 'The Witches are Coming' — and they are rightfully angry
"For a long time, a certain set of men have called women like me 'witches' to silence and discredit us," West says. Her book explores misogyny, the #MeToo movement and growing up female in America.
'Space Invaders' maps pixelated battles onto real-life conflict
The characters in Nona Fernández' new book are coming of age during Chile's brutal military dictatorship — and for them, video games are a useful framework for understanding the dangers all around.
Face-to-face with a grizzly
Duluth author Alex Messenger's new book recounts how his encounter with a grizzly bear during a 600-mile canoe trip changed his life.
'The Movie Musical!' is a symphony in praise of the 'razzmatazz' of the genre
Jeanine Basinger argues, authoritatively and passionately, that the musical has never really left us, that there's relevance and inspiration to be gleaned from the golden age of Hollywood musicals.
London's 'Mudlark' pulls treasure from the Thames
"I'm finding these ordinary pieces that perhaps, almost undoubtedly, nobody's touched since the last person who dropped it," Lara Maiklem says. "To reach down and pick that up is like reaching back through time, into history itself. It's the closest thing I can imagine to time travel."