Tea, art served up at IUAM

If you're into art, music and tea -- or your significant other no longer considers having a beer and sitting on the couch with you a date -- come to the IU Art Museum Friday. The museum will stay open until 7 p.m. for Teahouse Night to celebrate its current exhibition, "Conspiring With Tradition: Contemporary Painting From the Guilin Chinese Painting Academy."\nThe exhibit features a variety of contemporary Chinese art, said Judy Stubbs, Pamela Buell Curator of Asian art. \n"People often have preconceived notions of what Chinese art looks like, but I was surprised at the diversity of the exhibition," Stubbs said.\nThe IU Art Museum usually closes at 5 p.m. but will stay open an extra two hours.\nHaving later evening hours is sometimes better for students, said IU Art Museum Manager of External Relations Emily Powell. \nGuests will hear music of the erhu, an ancient Chinese instrument, played by James Min-Ching Yang and Sarah Pedersen. The erhu is a two-stringed instrument with an octagonal resonant box of wood and snake skin and is played using a bow made from bamboo with horsetail hair, according to an event press release from the IU Art Museum. Free Chinese tea samples and Asian sweets will also be available to guests.\nAdditionally, this holiday season, the Angles Cafe & Gift Shop and the Friends of Art Bookshop will be having special holiday sales. At Angles, IU staff and students can receive up to 20 percent off items by showing their IU IDs. Down the hall from the museum, in the Fine Arts Building, is the Friends of Art Bookshop, where visitors can save 10 percent on all merchandise during its holiday sale.\n"It's a good way for people to get started on holiday shopping if they need to do that," Powell said.\nBoth stores will be open until 7 p.m.\n"We encourage everyone to come out for a really nice evening," Powell said.