This year, nearly two dozen independent art fairs have announced plans to set up shop in Wynwood, the Design District, downtown Miami, Miami Beach -- and even aboard a luxury yacht -- to overlap with Art Basel Miami Beach from Thursday through Sunday.

That's twice the number of independent art fairs that took place during Art Basel in 2006, and four times as many as in 2005.

Among the reasons for the explosion of independent art fairs: an exuberant art market that shows little sign of slowing; the continued success of Art Basel Miami Beach, which is considered the most important fair of its kind in the country; and the undeniable understanding that balmy Miami is a much better place to be in December than most other places on Earth.

''It shows how attractive Art Basel Miami Beach is,'' says Samuel Keller, executive director of Art Basel.

With 22 scheduled independent fairs -- and the likelihood that others will pop up, too -- Keller says, ``everyone knows you can't see them all. That has become an illusion now, that you can see everything.''

Not when the weekend is so loaded with art. In addition to Art Basel Miami Beach and the satellite fairs, shows will also be held at private collection spaces, local art museums and hundreds of independent galleries.

It's all for good reason, as legions -- unofficially estimated at 40,000 -- of collectors, dealers, curators, museum directors, artists, art writers and art lovers are expected to visit South Florida that weekend.

But not everyone is pleased with this art supernova. Alexis Hubshman, president of -scope, which has hosted a satellite fair since Art Basel Miami Beach launched in 2002, says a ''critical mass'' has been reached.

''It's too much now,'' he says, ``I don't even think it's an Olympics anymore; it's a bazaar.''

Of course, Hubshman isn't complaining, not when -scopeMiami drew an estimated 16,000 visitors last year and expects to draw 20,000 this year to its eco-friendly pavilion in Wynwood's Roberto Clemente Park.

''We're making a lot of money,'' he said. This year, -scopeMiami will present 96 galleries representing 29 countries and feature emerging galleries alongside established ones.

The centerpiece of the -scope pavilion will be a 30-foot-tall mural and a giant video screen showing films by artists who have been expelled from Burma, North Korea and elsewhere.

Among the first-time satellite fairs emerging from the mass is GEISAI Miami, which will showcase 20 artists representing themselves and presenting their works -- ranging from fashion and photography to performance and multimedia installations -- directly to collectors.

Miami City Ballet also will wade into the art fair pool for the first time by partnering with Representational Artists Movement to host an art fair titled RAM Miami, which will exhibit figurative paintings, sculpture, drawings, murals and other objects.

Perhaps the most unusual satellite fair to debut this year is ArtMB, which will be housed aboard Seafair, a 228-foot-long luxury yacht that will dock at the Miami Beach Marina.

Aboard the Seafair, 28 art dealers will sell paintings, drawings, photographs, glass and sculpture ranging from pre-Columbian to contemporary.

With so many other contemporary art fairs taking place in Miami and Miami Beach during the first week of December, says David Lester, president of ArtMB, the Seafair will stand out not only for its unorthodox setting but for the type of art on board.

''We'll have Monets and we will have old masters,'' he says.

The Seafair, which Lester says represents a $40 million investment, has five decks, two restaurants and three bars, including one that serves champagne and caviar.

There are no cabins aboard the Seafair, Lester says. Rather, its interior is made up of exhibition spaces ranging from 250- to 600-square-feet each, with built-in lighting systems.

For most of the other, land-locked art fairs, attendance, if not sales, will depend on how well they distinguish themselves.

Tim Fleming, director of photo Miami, which premiered last year, took a counterintuitive approach: His fair will share space with AIPAD, a photography fair that makes its Miami debut this year.

By holding the fairs in adjacent tents, Fleming says, ``we're a destination for photo lovers and for media-based art lovers.''

The fairs, which together will present about 100 galleries, also may save money by sharing a restaurant in a common area.

Before the company that he works for, Art Fairs Inc., decided to launch photo Miami, Fleming had been watching how other independent art fairs, such as the New Art Dealers Alliance, set themselves apart. NADA focuses on emerging artists and galleries.

''It was interesting to see how they define themselves,'' Fleming says. ``We didn't quite know what we were getting into.''

The focus that has emerged for photo Miami is international, with a selection committee and galleries from Spain, France, Germany and the United States.

With so many more independent art fairs taking place this year, though, Fleming isn't sure exactly what to expect.

''It's going to be maddening,'' he says. 'All these things I keep hearing, `Oh, it's going to implode.' Others are saying, 'No, it's going to be a hit'. . . . There's something very attractive about it.

``The more galleries are there, the more people are going to keep coming.''

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