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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.

Minnesota crop art is on display in Washington, D.C., for America’s 250th

Minnesota crop art is on display in Washington, D.C., for America’s 250th

Explore Minnesota partnered with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to design the state’s pavilion in Washington, D.C. The pieces feature a dedication to Al’s Breakfast in Minneapolis, a “croppie” fish and a “crop star.”
by Sam Stroozas

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Art Hounds: Surreal drawings, sculpture strolls and a timely theatrical return

Art Hounds: Surreal drawings, sculpture strolls and a timely theatrical return

Art Hounds recommend for the holiday weekend: a surreal drawing exhibition, self-guided sculpture walks across Minnesota and a timely return of Michael Torsch’s “In the Backroom.”
by Emily Bright

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Having fun finding fungi: Rochester artist makes crocheted mushrooms to teach and delight

Having fun finding fungi: Rochester artist makes crocheted mushrooms to teach and delight

Blink and you’ll miss them. Dotting the trails around an environmental learning center in Lanesboro are life-like crocheted mushrooms. They’re a lesson in mycology and finding art in unexpected places.
by Catharine Richert

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Ask a Bookseller: ‘Enormous Wings’ by Laurie Frankel

Ask a Bookseller: ‘Enormous Wings’ by Laurie Frankel

The novel follows 77-year-old Pepper Mills, who moves into a retirement home at her grown children’s insistence. There, she falls in love with another resident and, to the shock of everyone, becomes pregnant.
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Bookseller: ‘One of Us’ by Dan Chaon

Ask a Bookseller: ‘One of Us’ by Dan Chaon

Jeff Danz of Zandbros Variety in Sioux Falls, S.D., S.D., recommends Dan Chaon’s novel “One of Us.”
by Emily Bright

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Emma Straub celebrates the pleasure of fandom in 'American Fantasy'

Emma Straub celebrates the pleasure of fandom in 'American Fantasy'

Come aboard the American Fantasy, where the (now middle-aged) fans of a (now middle-aged) boy band are congregating to celebrate the (mostly) uncomplicated joys of fandom. It’s a cruise — and a summer beach read — you don’t want to miss.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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MN Shortlist June 26-July 2: Pride, the World’s Largest Rubber Duck and Park Point Art Fair

MN Shortlist June 26-July 2: Pride, the World’s Largest Rubber Duck and Park Point Art Fair

Pride celebrations, Rocky Horror, World Cup cinema, music at the Dakota, Rocky Horror Picture Show with a shadow cast, Park Point Art Fair and more in this week’s MN Shortlist.
by Jacob Aloi and Alex V. Cipolle

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