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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 Beyoncé album accompanies the Lion King movie remake

New Beyoncé album accompanies the Lion King movie remake

While the movie has been panned, critics have been much kinder to the music, which Beyoncé described in a Good Morning America interview as "a love letter to Africa."
by Cathy Wurzer

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Riverboat performance lets audience navigate a murder mystery

Riverboat performance lets audience navigate a murder mystery

A story set just before the Civil War plays out on the Jonathan Padelford, where actors and audience members plumb the depths of criminal behavior.
by Sophia Sura

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New opera 'Blue' takes on the tragedy of police brutality

New opera 'Blue' takes on the tragedy of police brutality

The new opera by Tazewell Thompson and Jeanine Tesori tells the story of a couple in Harlem who are forced to confront their teenage son's sudden death by police violence.
by Jeff Lunden

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In 'My Ideal Boyfriend Is a Croissant', the heroine is no flake

In 'My Ideal Boyfriend Is a Croissant', the heroine is no flake

Laura Dockrill's young adult novel stars a refreshingly direct, unapologetic — and occasionally crass — plus-sized girl who uses her doctor-imposed food diary to record her life and feelings.
by Alethea Kontis

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'At Dusk' exposes South Korea through a variety of lenses

'At Dusk' exposes South Korea through a variety of lenses

Hwang Sok-yong's novel is a perfect slice of Koreana; a touching, somewhat depressive narrative full of nostalgia exposing the underbelly of a nation via the people inhabiting society's bottom rung.
by Gabino Iglesias

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Trump's bail offer for jailed rapper rings hollow in Sweden

Trump's bail offer for jailed rapper rings hollow in Sweden

President Trump said he spoke with Sweden's prime minister Saturday about jailed rapper A$AP Rocky and "offered to personally vouch for his bail," a hollow offer in a criminal justice system that doesn't include bail.
by Associated Press

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Cesar Pelli, architect of Wells Fargo Center and Minneapolis library, dies at 92

Cesar Pelli, architect of Wells Fargo Center and Minneapolis library, dies at 92

Famed Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, known for designing some of the world's tallest and most iconic buildings — including several works in Minnesota — has died. He was 92.
by Associated Press and MPR News Staff

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Now starring in children's cartoons: authentic indigenous characters

Now starring in children's cartoons: authentic indigenous characters

An Alaska Native girl (Molly of Denali), an Andean boy (Pachamama), two half-brothers in Mesoamerica (Victor and Valentino): Three new animated TV shows or films feature Native people without bygone-era baggage.
by Mandalit del Barco

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Notre Dame fire revives demand for skilled stone carvers in France

Notre Dame fire revives demand for skilled stone carvers in France

"With stone carving, we give life to an edifice and perpetuate history. We're also creating a link with the past and transmitting values that are important to conserve in society," one student says.
by Eleanor Beardsley

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Spirited 'Family of Origin' defends the maligned millennial

Spirited 'Family of Origin' defends the maligned millennial

CJ Hauser's new novel centers on two estranged siblings trying to unravel their late father's work with a group of fringe biologists who believe evolution is running backward, away from millenials.
by Lily Meyer

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