There are those who like their art shows in stark, sterile environments accompanied by white wine, a nice cheese plate and perhaps a string quartet in the background.

But not Kinsee Morlan and Zack Nielsen. The two local art enthusiasts hate stuffy shows and they're doing something about it. They're having a good, old-fashioned art showdown where a San Diego artist battles it out against a Tijuana one – on canvas, of course.

Adapta Project vs. Sezio is a professional art show without the upper-crust airs. It's held at Cream Coffee Bar in University Heights where the whir of espresso machines and the sounds of busy urban traffic add to the ambience.

“I think the typical show in a La Jolla gallery alienates a lot of people,” said Morlan. “But if art is in a space where people already go, like a coffee shop, they can visualize having a piece of art in their house.”

DETAILS Adapta Project vs. Sezio, featuring Fernanda Uski and Justin Skeesuck When: Tonight (Thursday), 6 to 10 p.m. Where: Cream Coffee Bar, 4496 Park Blvd., University Heights Tickets: Free; donations accepted. Phone: (619) 260-1917 Online: sezio.org or onesownartshow.com

This month's battle, which begins tonight, is between San Diego graphic artist Justin Skeesuck and Tijuana painter Fernanda Uski.

Uski will show a series of whimsical dog portraits while Skeesuck will display Letterpress and foil-stamped prints. The art will be hanging at Cream until Dec. 11, when the next battle begins.

“These are top-quality artists,” Nielsen said. “And we're trying to make their work more accessible not just to art lovers and patrons, but to everyone.”

So to create a more inviting atmosphere, the showdown also includes live bands. Tonight's lineup includes Washington state's Karli Fairbanks and San Diego's Triceratron. The ultimate artist “winner” is decided by which Mexican piggy bank collects the most cash.

“Our piggy bank got more money last month,” taunted Morlan to Nielsen.

Morlan is obviously passionate about art. Along with working as the arts and culture editor at San Diego CityBeat, she runs the Tijuana-based collective Adapta Project. Nielsen directs a similar, stateside group, Sezio.

The goal of both organizations is to promote underground, creative talent. They do this by organizing shows in unlikely spaces, like the New Children's Museum, fashion boutiques, and, of course, Cream.

“Artists aren't always very good at marketing themselves” Nielsen said. “If it were up to the artist, no one would know anything about them. We let them do what they do, and we try and get the word out.”

But making people aware of undiscovered talent isn't always easy, especially when the art is coming from Tijuana. Morlan admits that she's had to smuggle a painting across the border.

Because bringing art into the United States means filling out forms and paying a fee, Morlan said sometimes they just have to hide the art.

“We'd love to follow the rules, but if we did, we couldn't do what we do,” she said. “We already had one instance, our show at The Children's Museum, where we couldn't bring over a big piece because it would have turned heads and they likely would have stopped us at the border and asked for the proper forms.”

Despite the complications, Morlan, who lives in Tijuana, is determined to make people aware that San Diego and Tijuana truly are sister cities. And that's the motivation that inspired her to team with Nielsen's group.

“We're not really competitors,” Nielsen said. “The art community is made up of so many different pods and we're bringing them together.”

If you can't make it to this month's battle, be sure to catch the final round on Dec. 11. Adapta presents the paintings of Jorge Tellaeche vs. Sezio's photo artist Wes Bruce. The night features music by San Diegan Joel P West.