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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.

'New Yorker' writer fears we're fooling ourselves in the internet's 'Trick Mirror'

'New Yorker' writer fears we're fooling ourselves in the internet's 'Trick Mirror'

In her new book of essays, culture writer Jia Tolentino explores how social media shapes identity, public discourse and political engagement — particularly for millennials such as herself.
by Terry Gross

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'Our Women on the Ground' unites stories from female journalist in the Arab world

'Our Women on the Ground' unites stories from female journalist in the Arab world

There's a deep fascination in the West with how women function in ultra-conservative societies where repression can be violent and even deadly. This anthology pulls back the curtain on those places.
by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

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Burned out by dating apps? 'The Right Swipe' will relight your fire

Burned out by dating apps? 'The Right Swipe' will relight your fire

Alisha Rai's new romance is a testament to the difficulty of modern dating, as the CEO of a successful dating app realizes she's been ghosted by the celebrity spokesman of her biggest business rival.
by Amanda M. Diehl

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Twin Cities live performers Davina and The Vagabonds launch studio album

Twin Cities live performers Davina and The Vagabonds launch studio album

Davina Lozier says her jazz- and blues-influenced music is genre-defying, nods to decades of music history and contains "a hum of sadness.” Davina and her band The Vagabonds celebrate the release of their new album "Sugar Drops" at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis Monday.
by MPR News Staff

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Smart and snarky, 'The Westing Game' provides lasting laughs

Smart and snarky, 'The Westing Game' provides lasting laughs

As part of our summer-long celebration of funny books, we've asked our writers to talk about things that made them laugh, like Ellen Raskin's witty and chaotic inheritance adventure The Westing Game.
by Alethea Kontis

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Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker dies at 94

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker dies at 94

D.A. Pennebaker, the Oscar-winning documentary maker whose historic contributions to American culture and politics included immortalizing a young Bob Dylan in "Don't Look Back" and capturing the spin behind Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign in "The War Room," has died. He was 94.
by The Associated Press

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'Bernadette' is a cautionary tale about putting creativity aside after kids

'Bernadette' is a cautionary tale about putting creativity aside after kids

Where'd You Go, Bernadette stars Cate Blanchett as a brilliant architect who hasn't designed anything in 20 years. The film, directed by Richard Linklater, was adapted from Maria Semple's 2012 novel.
by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

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Disaster is on the horizon in blood-soaked 'Dark Age'

Disaster is on the horizon in blood-soaked 'Dark Age'

The latest installment in Pierce Brown's epic Roman-in-space saga Red Rising finds our hero overthrown and banished from the Republic he founded, and teetering dangerously close to villainy.
by Jason Sheehan

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An 'excruciatingly beautiful' novel from a celebrated poet

An 'excruciatingly beautiful' novel from a celebrated poet

Aaron Cance says Ocean Vuong’s novel is simply astounding: “Everything else I read for the rest of this year is going to be measured against this novel.”
by Tracy Mumford

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