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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.

'Future of Another Timeline' edits the past to save the present

'Future of Another Timeline' edits the past to save the present

Annalee Newitz's new novel pits a group of time-travelers trying to make the future better for women against a dangerous rival organization inspired by vicious Victorian moralist Anthony Comstock.
by Jason Sheehan

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Art Hounds: Life, death and roller coasters

Art Hounds: Life, death and roller coasters

The Jungle Theater presents “Ride the Cyclone.” Plus, Art Hounds recommend a theatrical ghost tour of New Prague and “Population 485” in Hudson.
by Marianne Combs

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In 'This Tender Land,' writer crafts a Minnesota odyssey on the Mississippi

In 'This Tender Land,' writer crafts a Minnesota odyssey on the Mississippi

St. Paul writer William Kent Krueger tells MPR News host Tom Crann about “This Tender Land,” his new Depression-era novel of four orphans canoeing the Mississippi River to escape the cruelty of their Native American boarding school.
by Nick Scheffler

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'The Shadow King' is a gorgeous meditation on memory, war and violence

'The Shadow King' is a gorgeous meditation on memory, war and violence

Maaza Mengiste's new novel is set just before the second Italo-Ethiopian War, and follows a woman who becomes a guard to a "shadow king," a man impersonating exiled Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie.
by Michael Schaub

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Tegan and Sara find pain — and unexpected joy — in 'High School'

Tegan and Sara find pain — and unexpected joy — in 'High School'

Music duo Tegan and Sara revisit their teen years and their early music in a new memoir and companion album. Listening back to the songs they wrote, Sara says: "I was struck by the joy in our voices."
by Terry Gross

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As personal challenge, writer makes climate change a mainstream literary topic

As personal challenge, writer makes climate change a mainstream literary topic

Writer Amitav Ghosh chided the literary world of writers, critics and readers to take climate change seriously and make it a central topic. While his new novel “Gun Island” does that, it’s also a page turner.
by Euan Kerr

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