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.

'Ohio' is a wild, angry, devastating debut
Stephen Markley's novel follows four friends, each with their own baggage, who return to their home town on the same night, but for different reasons -- leading to an explosive moment of violence.
Mike Love, the sole original member who's still playing with the band, has released a new recording of an old Beach Boys song. He recorded "It's OK" with Hanson.
'Chesapeake Requiem' chronicles life on an endangered island
Tangier Island, in the Chesapeake Bay, has been home to a small, self-reliant community of watermen for centuries -- and now climate change is threatening to swamp the island and its way of life.
Neil Simon, Broadway's master of comedy, dies at 91
Playwright Neil Simon, a master of comedy whose laugh-filled hits such as "The Odd Couple," "Barefoot in the Park" and his "Brighton Beach" trilogy dominated Broadway for decades, has died. He was 91.
The connections between sci-fi and David Bowie
Critic and author Jason Heller's new book traces the considerable influence of David Bowie on the science-fiction inflected music of the 1970s, from "Space Oddity" to the glittery glory of Funkadelic.
John Lennon's killer is denied parole for a 10th time
Mark David Chapman, 63, stood before a New York State Board of Parole panel on Wednesday. In its decision, the panel said that releasing him would be "incompatible with the welfare and safety of society."
In 'Red, White, Blue,' high peaks and low blows
Lea Carpenter's new novel combines literary sensibility with genre readability, for a dark spy thriller about a young woman finding out all kinds of strange truths about her father's past in the CIA.