Just when you thought the art fairways were emptying, out for another swing comes the Miami International Art Fair (MIA), with its second annual international event held Jan. 14-17. Can Miami handle another major fair? If it is in the proper hands

it should be able to, and MIA is the child of Art Miami founders David and Lee Ann Lester, owners of the successful International Fine Art Expositions (or IFAE), which in turn is behind such fairs as Art Palm Beach and Art Naples. The director this year was Aldo Castillo, the well-known dealer and curator who specializes in Latin contemporary.

This time out, the fair was heavy with local representation, about 25 galleries out of a total of over 80, and highlighting local artists—such as the installation collaborative “Improvising Architectures,” with Christy Gast, Adler Guerrier, Nicolas Lobo, Ernesto Oroza and Viking Funeral, curated by Gean Moreno; and the 25-foot “Penetrable” by Jesus Rafael Soto of the O. Ascanio gallery. Wynwood’s Diana Lowenstein Fine Art Gallery received the 2011 Arts of Distinction award.

The lecture and event programing also covered local ground comprehensively, with some diverse subjects and topics. Here are some highlights:

“The Future of the Arts in South Florida,” a conversation with MAM’s new director Thom Collins and Dennis Scholl, curator and Knight Foundation’s vice-president of arts and Miami program director.

A book signing with Nicolas Lobo and Beatriz Monteavaro, whose art books were published by [NAME] Publications through a grant from the Knight Arts Challenge.

“Geometric Abstraction in the Contemporary World: Young Artists, Robust Markets, Important Collections,” with Miami’s Alejandra von Hartz, owner of Alejandra von Hartz Gallery, and Matthew Deleget, artist and director of New York’s Minus Space gallery.

And of course, when you’ve had your fill of talking, the Miami Beach Convention Center was chock full of every genre of contemporary art (including a special emphasis on performance art)—for the second time in two months, Miami can’t keep from putting around the artfair greens.