After-party mixes art, food

Even after CultureFest ends this evening, the party will go on at the IU Art Museum.

With live band Craig and the Crawdads, chocolate and coffee from around the world, party-goers will have a unique opportunity to experience the museum, said Joanna Davis, the manager of external relations for the IU Art Museum.

“It’s kind of a low-key ending to the evening,” said Melanie Payne, chairperson of the CultureFest planning committee, who gave full credit for the event to the museum staff. “It really is their event.”

Davis said the purpose of the event was to introduce new and returning students to the art museum in a more relaxed setting.

“It’s just a fun, lively way to experience the museum,” she said.

All three of the museum’s permanent-exhibition galleries will be open, giving visitors the chance to explore while Craig and the Crawdads perform.

“We always try to choose a band that’s lively,” Davis said, describing the New Orleans boogie-woogie sound, one of their signature styles. “We have a large atrium, and we needed a band that can fill the space.”

Pianist Craig Brenner said his group is up to the task. He explained that boogie-woogie is a piano style where the left hand plays a repeating eighth-note pattern while the right plays a complementary melody.

“Boogie-woogie has kind of been synonymous with ‘let’s get down and party,’” he said. “It sells itself, basically, once you hear it. ... It’s a kind of music that feels good.”

As for the New Orleans flavor, Brenner attributes that to the city’s artists such as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino and Professor Longhair.

“They added their own rhythm to it that gives it a distinctly New Orleans rhythm,” he said, adding that boogie-woogie is only one style in the band’s repertoire. “We also play swing and jazz, and rhythm and blues.”

As for the chocolate, BLU Boy Chocolate Cafe and Cakery owner and chocolatier David Fletcher said to expect a variety of flavors, including pistachio, hazelnut, jasmine, orange and ancho chile with cinnamon.

“It’s actually not spicy-hot,” Fletcher said of the last, describing a more savory taste it gives the chocolate.

Besides the taste, his chocolate will be visually attractive as well.

“Some of the designs are stenciled in cocoa butter,” he said, while the rest will be hand-painted, something he said sets his store apart in Bloomington. “We’re the only shop that hand-paints our chocolate here in our shop.”

Davis said she is excited to see what he prepares.

“The chocolates are like Willy Wonka for adults,” she said with a laugh.

The coffee will come from the museum’s own Angles Cafe and will feature blends from around the world.

Davis also hopes this event will help diminish the stereotype that all art museums have to be boring and stuffy and said that, as an employee, the best part is seeing new faces at the museum.

“Art museums have become a vibrant place,” Davis said. “There are more ways to experience them than you might anticipate.”