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.

Erik Johansson's impossible images delight and provoke thought
A new show of surreal photography at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis features the work of a self-taught artist with a wild imagination.
Capturing the 'Voices of Mississippi'
Bookseller Kelle Barfield recommends much more than a book: She raves about a collection of music, oral history and other materials compiled by historian William Ferris.
Latest tour takes Minnesota Orchestra 3 miles north
Musicians hope their visits to north Minneapolis will result in lasting relationships.
The song actually came about after the band broke up, when several former Yes members got together to form another band, called Cinema. Their new guitarist had written "Owner of a Lonely Heart" as a demo.
Art Hounds: Land, industry and the environment meet in 'Beautiful Sky'
Alexa Horochowski combines photography, sculpture, video and prints to create a nuanced examination of our relationship with the land in "Beautiful Sky." Plus, Art Hounds recommend "Miss Myrna Davenport's Poetry in Motion" and the Jungle Theater's remount of "The Wolves."
'Horse Latitudes' is a gripping mix of genres
Part thriller, part noir, and part tropical gothic, Morris Collins' debut novel follows a New York photographer on a dangerous and increasingly surreal journey through Central America.
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Russell Baker dies at 93
Baker made his name as a columnist for The New York Times, where he wrote thousands of columns over more than 30 years. He won one Pulitzer Prize for commentary, and another for his autobiography.
Urbaniak hails from Billings, Mont., where he also builds guitars. He plays the Warming House Wednesday night.
'The Snow Leopard Project' puts spotlight on Afghanistan's wildlife
For many, Afghanistan does not at first conjure up images of black bears and musk deer. But that's just what Alex Dehgan found when his team went there in hope of establishing the first national park.