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.

After his mother’s death, Ocean Vuong wrote his way through grief
Vuong’s new novel, “The Emperor of Gladness,” is the first he’s written, from start to finish, since his mother died in 2019. He says writing it was a way to honor her memory.
Relics of Minnesota history play bingo
The Minnesota History Center is holding a new event to showcase archival footage through a bingo game. The Thursday, June 12 event will include segments from KSTP broadcasts, commercials, home videos, film projects and interviews with famous Minnesotan women as a nod to a traveling exhibit that closed just a week ago at the center named “Girlhood (It’s Complicated).”
Why doctors at Mayo Clinic are doing improv theater
Medical residents at Mayo Clinic are learning some unexpected skills through improv comedy classes. These workshops help them better relate to patients — and each other in an often stressful environment.
The murals spoke out: Reflecting on protest art in the wake of George Floyd's murder
After George Floyd’s murder, a group of Minneapolis artists formed Creatives After Curfew to process grief and demand justice through murals — work that once drew wide support but now faces fading interest and shifting cultural priorities.