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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.

'Strange Harvests' turns nature's fairy tales inside out

'Strange Harvests' turns nature's fairy tales inside out

Edward Posnett's book is more than an impressive add to the modern travelogue: it refuses to accept the landscape at face value as it paints remote terrain in visceral and breathtaking prose.
by Carson Vaughan

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Expat Venezuelan singers honor loved ones in MN Orchestra's multicultural masterpiece

Expat Venezuelan singers honor loved ones in MN Orchestra's multicultural masterpiece

An orchestral piece based on the Gospel According to Mark rounds out the Minnesota Orchestra’s summer celebration with a choir singing in Spanish, a huge percussion section and a troupe of dancers. There is, however, a bittersweet note to the concert as performers think of the people who they hoped would be there.
by Euan Kerr

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Appetites: Bringing the heat of wood fire cooking

Appetites: Bringing the heat of wood fire cooking

Irons in the Fire describes themselves as a “wood fire scratch kitchen.” The Minneapolis-based catering company creates custom meals throughout Minnesota, and now into Wisconsin and Iowa.
by Steven John and Kyle Shiely

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Our language is evolving, 'Because Internet'

Our language is evolving, 'Because Internet'

Whether you're extremely online or still confused by how a simple period can be interpreted as passive-aggressive, linguist Gretchen McCulloch has a guide to how our on-screen speech is morphing.
by Audie Cornish

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Towering Broadway director and producer Hal Prince has died

Towering Broadway director and producer Hal Prince has died

Harold Prince, a Broadway director and producer who pushed the boundaries of musical theater with such groundbreaking shows as "The Phantom of the Opera," ''Cabaret," ''Company" and "Sweeney Todd" and won a staggering 21 Tony Awards, has died. Prince was 91.
by The Associated Press

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Video: Biffy, hobbledehoy, cattywumpus! Where did these words come from?

Video: Biffy, hobbledehoy, cattywumpus! Where did these words come from?

It’s not always possible to find the exact origin of our favorite words. History and language can get messy. But discussing their roots and forming hypotheses can be fascinating, and lots of fun! We sat down with etymologist Anatoly Liberman to help shed some light on a few of our favorite words.
by Sara Porter and Jiwon Choi

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Idiosyncratic, dimension-hopping 'Skip' creates its own niche

Idiosyncratic, dimension-hopping 'Skip' creates its own niche

Molly Mendoza's loopy new graphic novel isn't quite a young adult book, or a book for grownups, either. But it is a trippy visual experience, and Mendoza's art is gorgeous even when the story is thin.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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Losing and old faith — and gaining a new one — in 'The Churchgoer'

Losing and old faith — and gaining a new one — in 'The Churchgoer'

Patrick Coleman's novel follows a former pastor, now working as a security guard, who gets caught up in a noirish adventure after one of his coworkers is murdered, but it's much more than a whodunit.
by Ilana Masad

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'It Came from Something Awful' links 4Chan and today's political discourse

'It Came from Something Awful' links 4Chan and today's political discourse

If author Dale Beran is to be believed, all the world's an Internet forum. His new book offers an overview of Internet culture and explores the mindset and techniques of early Internet trolls.
by Andrew Limbong

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