Guwahati: Artists from 10 countries will showcase their painting skills and cultural heritage on the bank of the Red River here for three days at the River Brahmaputra Art Festival, which began on Saturday.

"We are organising such a festival for the first time in Assam with the aim of fusion of art. We will also showcase folk music of the Northeast and the participating countries," Mintu Deka, founder of SMD Foundation, the organisers, said.

Artists from Turkey, Cyprus, Iraq, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon, Qatar and from different parts of India are taking part in the festival.

On the highlights of the festival, Deka said, "We are focussing on the culture of Sri Lanka and its artistes will perform on all three days. We are planning to organise the festival on a much bigger scale next year so that people from all parts of Assam are made aware about it."

Deka said his foundation had already organised 10 such festivals at the international level. "It is the first event organised by us in Assam and in India. We have organised festivals in several countries earlier. But being a Assamese, it was my dream to organise the festival in Assam. I have planning and working to turn my dream into reality for the past two years," he said.

Deka claimed he did not receive any assistance from the state government. "I approached the government officials several times but failed to get any response. We will continue to organise the festival in Assam through our own efforts," he said.