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.

Art Hounds: Rod Massey's paintings offer 'Concrete Evidence'
Art Hounds recommend a show of paintings by Rod Massey in Minneapolis, a new album by Minnesota musician Jonny Somebody, and an art show about being black and female in Duluth.
'The Deep' sings with many voices
Rivers Solomon's lyrical, wrenching new novella is based on a track from the experimental rap group clipping., about a peaceful undersea race descended from slaves thrown overboard in the Atlantic.
'Sound the Bells' — where Dessa and the Minnesota Orchestra meet
Years long collaboration and cross-genre learning results in “Sound the Bells” and some interesting marketing challenges.
In 'Mobituaries,' Mo Rocca gives people the second send-offs they deserved
The humorist has expanded his podcast series into a book of essays on the historical figures (and objects, like station wagons, and empires, like Prussia) that didn't get enough love the first time.
'A Marvelous Life' holds Stan Lee high as the man who made superheroes matter
Danny Fingeroth spends some time unpacking Lee's long-running dispute with Jack Kirby and others over ownership, but mainly offers strong insights into the forces that drove Lee and Marvel to success.
From lawn mowers to rock concerts, our 'Deafening World' is hurting our ears
Volume Control author David Owen says our ears largely evolved in a far quieter time than the one we currently live in. He warns that the ambient noises that surround us pose a threat to our hearing.
Jenny Slate's 'Little Weirds' is just not weird enough
The stand-up comic's essays have soft and lovely moments, steering readers toward finding their own vulnerabilities. But Slate is not as open to self-exposure on the page as she is on the stage.
'The Great Pretender' seeks the truth 'on being sane in insane places'
Journalist and Brain on Fire author Susannah Cahalan writes in an urgent, personal book that the '70s study by David Rosenhan had an outsized effect on psychiatry — and may have been fatally flawed.
In 'Get a Life, Chloe Brown,' love doesn't cure all — but it sure is fun
Talia Hibbert's new novel stars Chloe, who's determined to get a life after years of coping with chronic pain, and Red, the mysterious and extremely annoying (at first) super at her new building.