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.

August 27, 2019 4:09 AM

10 things you might as well know about the 2019 VMAs

Monday night's MTV Video Music Awards telecast brought viewers lots of Taylor Swift and Missy Elliott, not to mention Lizzo, Normani, Lil Nas X, Rosalía and more.

by Stephen Thompson

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August 25, 2019 3:30 PM

'Hair Love' uses animation to bring a story of natural hair in black families to life

Conceived and directed by Matthew Cherry, it follows the story of an African American father — Stephen — and his daughter, Zuri. Stephen is trying to learn how to do Zuri's glorious natural hair and, well, it's not so easy.

by Michel Martin

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August 25, 2019 9:00 AM

'The Warehouse' is scary because it's plausible

Rob Hart's new dystopian cyberthriller imagines a near-future America in a state of semi-collapse, where the only jobs available are in company towns built by an enormous conglomerate called Cloud.

by Gabino Iglesias

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August 25, 2019 7:46 AM

'My Papi has a Motorcycle' pays loving tribute to a California childhood

Author Isabel Quintero and illustrator Zeke Peña worked together on My Papi Has a Motorcycle, a homage to Quintero's childhood in California's Inland Empire, and to her hard-working father.

by Leila Fadel and Samantha Balaban

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August 25, 2019 7:27 AM

Shhhhh, listen closely: Your plants might be talking

With extremely sensitive microphones, a new exhibit at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden shows it's possible to hear the sounds that plants make when they're growing.

by Dana Cronin

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August 25, 2019 6:00 AM

'The Downstairs Girl' faces difficult history with joy and style

In Stacey Lee's new novel, an opinionated and talented Chinese American girl makes her way in Reconstruction-era Atlanta while preserving her secret work as an advice columnist in the local paper.

by Caitlyn Paxson

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August 24, 2019 7:55 PM

440 years old and filled with footprints, these aren't your everyday maps

In 1577, King Philip II of Spain wanted to know whom he was ruling and where in his vast kingdom they were. So his viceroy asked the indigenous groups in what is now Mexico to draw some maps for him.

by Wade Goodwyn

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August 24, 2019 7:13 AM

Julia Louis-Dreyfus: 'I don't think I've made it ... and I like that'

Nominated for a ninth Emmy Award in acting, the star of Veep and Seinfeld talks about getting her first laugh, her rocky start at Saturday Night Live and the #MeToo movement.

by Audie Cornish

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August 24, 2019 6:00 AM

In 'Automatic Eve,' steampunk meets 'Blade Runner' — in Japan

Rokuro Inui's mosaic novel is set in a lush alternate Japan, full of cricket fighting tournaments, beautiful automata and intricate webs of plot and counter-plot around the mysterious Eve.

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia