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.

'Becoming Dr. Seuss' reveals Theodor Geisel as a complicated icon
Using personal papers, telegrams, biographies, unpublished interviews and letters, author Brian Jay Jones gives readers a comprehensive view of the complex, multifaceted creator who became a giant.
Broadcast journalist series: Jason Beaubien
The latest edition of MPR's Broadcast Journalist Series featured NPR's Global Health and Development Correspondent Jason Beaubien.
NPR's David Greene and Rachel Martin look back at famous theme songs from pop culture, and remember the old Morning Edition theme as the show debuts the updated version of the song.
Rochester's charming Chateau Theatre learns its fate Monday -- maybe
Rochester's beloved but barely used Chateau Theatre is on the City Council agenda Monday, and council members will choose what to do with the facility -- but maybe not. It's complicated.
Belonging and betrayal drive the action in 'Storm of Locusts'
The second book in Rebecca Roanhorse's Navajo-influenced Sixth World series pits monsterslayer Maggie Hoskie against a villain whose sense of betrayal drives his plan to drown the world he knows.
In 'Ask Dr. Ruth,' the famous sex therapist looks inward at last
Dr. Ruth Westheimer revolutionized talk around sex in America. At 90, she's letting her own walls come down in a new documentary. As a Holocaust refugee, she says it's her duty to speak up.
In Helen Hoang's novels, autism is no bar to love and happiness
Helen Hoang's romances feature characters on the autism spectrum -- as she herself is; she says she wants to show that autistic people can get their happily-ever-afters just like anyone else.
Falling in love with love in 'Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak'
Adi Alsaid's new novel follows a teen romance columnist whose senior-year breakup has resulted in a raging case of writer's block. It's a beautiful illustration of the raw nerves that come with love.