Participants at the workshop on art and ecology at Buddha Jayanti Park in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 10: The city will host an annual art festival to be organised by the state culture and tourism department. The date and venue are going to be fixed shortly.

Yesterday, a group of artists, administrators, art critics and writers came to a conclusion that the festival would provide a proper forum for the new artists and curators as the city has a glorious past related to Odishan temple architecture. Besides, it is simultaneously growing faster with modern architecture, style and contemporary sculptures and installations.

Speaking to The Telegraph on the sidelines of a workshop on “Art and Ecology: Search for Sustainability” at Buddha Jayanti Park yesterday, culture and tourism secretary Arabinda Padhee said: “The festival will have traditional, modern and contemporary ideas to make people aware about similar developments in the world art scenario. It will also inspire young people to take art as a career.”

Chairman-cum-managing director of the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) Vishal Kumar Dev said: “Earlier, provincial rulers used to patronise art and thus artists were getting inspiring platforms to develop their creativity. I hope that with the state government’s active support, the festival would be a mega event and attract national and international artists, sculptors and curators to share their ideas with local people.”

The weeklong workshop, which was inaugurated by renowned artist, art historian and writer Dinanath Pathy, will have multiple sessions on art and nature, urban challenges to nature, ecology and development. City-based organisation Ustha, which works for popularisation of art, has organised the event in collaboration with Idco and the culture department.

Pathy, in his advice to the participating artists, however, said that in the modern art world, artists are drifting away from nature. “We should connect more to nature, so that the artists can get more inspiration and create works that will inspire people, especially the young generation,” he said.

Artist Jagannath Panda, who conceptualised the event with a focal theme on art and ecology, said: “The idea of an annual art festival had been incubating in our minds for a pretty long time. As several government agencies have come forward to help the art scenario in the city, it might be possible to organise it in the next winter as it takes a longer time to co-ordinate everything.”

Artists from various art colleges across the nation, academics, writers, documentary makers, curators, art students and researchers from other countries are taking part in the workshop.