Here's a bright outpost of the vigorous DIY ethic that characterizes this city's quirky, self-sustaining art community. Born of an artist collective's ambitions to build a space out of the front of a condemned downtown building, Current Gallery has taken an unconventional route to gallery infamy. The original crew of 15 artists are now down to four, and the building itself will eventually be demolished to make way for the inevitable downtown commercial spread, but Current marches on with provocative, whimsical, and street-smart exhibits. Take two shows as examples. Creative Capitalism explored ways to imbue production-line art and music with humanity and personality--a CD label-stamping task was turned into a musical performance, while gallery volunteers donned Current Gallery work shirts. Dilapidated Reanimated, exhibited at this year's Artscape, inspired artists to explore creative ways to reuse the abandoned lots and buildings that mar the city's landscape--reuse of unused property much like the very building they inhabit. With an exhibit hall built of drywall scavenged from the upper floors of the building, Current is no fussy art gallery. It's unlike anything else in the city.

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