A portal was set up in downtown D.C. earlier this year. (Photo by Rachel Sadon)

There was a long waiting list earlier this summer to visit the gilded shipping container that materialized in downtown D.C. Conceived by D.C.-based artist Amar Bakshi, the “Portals” project connected visitors in Washington to strangers in Cuba, Iran, and Afghanistan solely for the purpose of having a 20-minute chat.

Now, Bakshi is bringing the project back to the area as part of the NextNOW Fest next week at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park.

Conversation seekers can sign up for slots between 5:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. during the festival on September 9-11. Or there are additional appointments on September 14th and 15th. In addition to Tehran and Herat, the portal will also connect to Mexico City and El Progreso, Honduras.

As I wrote of singular experience:

On its face, the conceit is simple: set up spaces in two different countries and let visitors talk via web cam. The interaction isn’t recorded, there is no entrance fee, and visitors are free to talk about whatever they want; the only instruction they are given, in fact, is a prompt of “what would make today a good day for you?”

… Inside the cool shipping container—a simple carpeted space with a patio table set up in front of a large screen—the conversation Robin and I shared pretty quickly left the realm of small talk. As he was telling me about his love for Cuban jazz, a flash rain descended in Havana and I could hear it pounding down in the background. Without leaving the District, I was transported to the Cuban capital.