Feb. 8: A unique event is being organised at different city locales from Friday with an aim to make art accessible to all.

The event, Regional Art, Performance and Events, 2012, is being organised by two groups — Kankhowa and Black Rice — and will comprise a string of events, including public art events, panel discussions, workshops, short-film screenings, launches and presentations at various public places of the city between February 10 and 22.

Claimed to be for the first time in Guwahati, Kankhowa and Black Rice today announced a series of art events for a fortnight through its volunteering project, where institutions and practicing groups across various disciplines (art, literature, academics) of the region and outside will come together to develop dialogues and build bridges. At the same time, the event aims to open up a public-based dialogue about art in this region and also to promote the same to the national and international platforms.

The event’s initiator, Samudra Kajal Saikia, said, “This event will open a window to the Northeast and will encourage experiments in art. It will create a futuristic vision of creating a wider art-practising environment in this region.”

Bharalumukh, Paltan Bazar, Dighlipukhuri, Guwahati Club, Chandmari, Noonmati, Rajgarh, Zoo Road Tiniali, Ganeshguri and Bashishtha are a few of the venues where these events will be held.

Although most of the events will take place on outdoor locations, panel discussions and workshops are being organised at the Guwahati Artists Guild at Chandmari and the Government College of Art and Crafts at Shantipur.

“We are trying to organise as many events outdoors as possible. In fact, we have not booked any theatre or auditorium for screening short films. We are planning to screen them in some playground or park,” Saikia said.

Amit Mukhopadhyay, an art curator and Rahul Bhattacharya, a scholar and critic, will take part in this event.

“Mukhopadhyay has been a guiding figure and a key motivator for this project. Likewise, several eminent scholars and artists from various parts of the country are showing interest and are coming down to Guwahati during the event,” he said.

Among the events, there will be more than 10 public art and sound installations and interactive presentations, along with a three-day session of group discussions, seminars and workshops about the changing dimensions of art in the Northeast and the possibilities and the challenges.