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 St. Paul food truck hall wants you to do its promotion
The Seventh Street Truck Park brought the food-truck experience indoors. The quirky eatery is on the leading edge of the industry's effort to turn customers into their marketers.
Chris Jackson and the book industry's attempts to diversify
Chris Jackson is revitalizing One World, a division of Random House known for publishing black authors. To celebrate, it's releasing Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book, "We Were Eight Years in Power."
'The Apparitionists' raises the specters that haunted America
Peter Manseau skillfully weaves together spirituality, technology and the legacy of the Civil War to tell the story of a "spirit photographer" on trial for claiming he could take pictures of ghosts.
In historic change, Boy Scouts to let girls in some programs
Under the plan, Cub Scout dens -- the smallest unit -- will be single-gender, either all-boys or all-girls. The larger Cub Scout packs will have the option to remain single gender or welcome both genders.
'Soul of a Woman' to be released next month
Sharon Jones, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, died last November.
New Yorker cartoonist offers a how-to guide to the city
As Roz Chast describes New York City, the streets run east-west and the anxieties go every which way.
"It's a classification based on 1970s ideals about what boys should be doing and what girls should be doing," Thompson told The Associated Press. The Pacific Legal Foundation wants the high school league to allow any boy in Minnesota to dance competitively.
Given the success of Fenty Beauty, what does Rihanna understand about the cosmetics industry that mainstream beauty brands don't? And what does the Dove controversy say about the change that's still needed in the beauty industry?
Hallelujah! The songs we should retire
They are often beloved classics, or works of pure genius. And you never, ever need to hear them again. They are the songs that must be retired.