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.

Art Deco King: Remembering St. Paul artist Paul Manship on the 100th anniversary of a movement
A major figure in American Art Deco, St. Paul-born sculptor Paul Manship is celebrated at the Minnesota Museum of American Art with zodiac medallions and other works that trace his celestial obsessions and lasting legacy.
2025 Met Gala Red Carpet: Looks we love
Monday is the Met Gala, known as fashion’s grandest event, where celebrities from various realms come together at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate fashion and each other.
‘James’ wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
The 2025 Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday afternoon. Percival Everett won the award for fiction for his novel “James”, a powerful re-imagination of “Huckleberry Finn.”
‘Smashing our dreams’: NEA terminates grants for many Minnesota arts organizations
Several Minnesota arts organizations, including Penumbra Theatre and the Lakes Area Music Festival, have had their 2025 NEA grants abruptly terminated as the agency shifts its funding priorities to align with new federal directives restricting support for projects promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
Pride on the West Side: St. Paul celebrates Cinco de Mayo with car show, parade
Cinco de Mayo began early in St. Paul this year, starting with a lowrider car show on Friday leading up to the annual parade and fiesta on the West Side, in the heart of the city’s Mexican community.
Thinking outside the ‘daily concrete life’: How puppets and picture books create a sense of possibility
Minnesota artist Anne Sawyer, a puppeteer and educator, channels her lifelong love of storytelling and improvisation into a new children’s book about pollinators that blends science, imagination and playful creativity.
‘I'm one American story’: Minnesota author Kao Kalia Yang resists being ‘the Hmong voice’
Author Kao Kalia Yang resists being boxed in, both as the only '“Hmong voice” in literature and in a singular genre. The Minnesota author has written memoirs, fiction, picture books, and even an opera.