On H Street NE, Art and Life, Remixed

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ITS PRESENCE heralded only by a black-and-white sign that reads "Studio 416," the Dissident Display Gallery recently made a low-key entrance to the H Street NE corridor.

The brainchild of Adrian Loving and Ayodamola Okunseinde, both of whom have made significant contributions to the D.C. art scene — Loving as a DJ, graphic designer and event planner, and Okunseinde as a creative director and visual artist — the gallery's avant-garde interior is an extension of the owners' vibe.

White walls meet high ceilings and sleek design incorporates a DJ booth where Loving will spin sets at each show's closing party. Though he's quick to clarify, "Dissident Display is not a club with pictures on the wall." The booth simply adds another layer with which to "remix culture," a term Loving and Okunseinde coined to define their artistic process.

Before banding together, Loving and Okunseinde were separately trying to find their way after art school in the District. After recognizing a shared attraction to nightlife and multimedia art, the pair teamed up.

Dissident Display includes a production studio, gallery and an educational component offering free lectures, classes and workshops — what the owners call a "trifecta of brands."

Pushing to transform H Street into an arts district and eventually to extend their reach internationally, the Dissident Display dudes see their future, "on the red carpet," as Loving said.

» 416 H St. NE; "Wonderland: Surrealism and Fashion, the Art of Yvonne and Matthew Taylor," through Feb. 25; guest speaker Ben Benus, Thu., 7 &9 p.m., free; 202-332-3346.