As nearly 60 galleries fill the George R. Brown Convention Center for Texas Contemporary, the city’s art scene braces itself for the second major art fair debut in the span of a month.

While September’s inaugural Houston Fine Art Fair brought leading galleries from around the world to push some of the biggest names in 20th-century art, Texas Contemporary — as its name suggests — will focus on the work of living artists, capturing both established and emerging voices from today’s international art world.

“In organizing the show, we looked to gallerists with a definitive point of view,” said Texas Contemporary director Max Fishko. “These galleries are all at the forefront of contemporary art. We want to enable interesting conversations on what’s currently happening in art.”

Through his Brooklyn-based artMRKT Productions, which he founded last December with partner Jeffrey Wainhause, Fishko launched two new contemporary art shows in the Hamptons and San Fransisco earlier this year, working with regional galleries to meet the tastes of local collectors.

“Most galleries were invited either by me personally or by our selection committee made up of about 50 Houston collectors, curators, and influential figures in the Houston art world.”

As with its other fairs, artMRKT has drawn numerous local non-profits into the fold, offering booths to organization’s like Art League Houston, Community Artists’ Collective, The Orange Show, Project Row Houses, Skydive, and the Station Museum. Thursday night’s preview party will benefit the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, with whom Fishko worked to gather participants for the show.

“Turns out that [CAMH director] Bill Arning and I had a close mutual friend, the late Gregory Gillespie,” Fishko said. “He even worked on a show of Greg’s paintings at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000.”

“We immediately knew we shared a common eye on art,” he continued. “There are so many ways to approach an event like this, but as soon as Bill and I realized our perspectives meshed so well, we saw how to get the project going right away.”

“Houston’s a place with great art programs and museums, not to mention a strong group of collectors. The city’s 80 plus galleries are an indication of something — there’s a critical mass of people interested in participating in contemporary art.”

Fishko believes that art institutions in Houston take the right approach to maintaining a base of patrons, constantly reaching out to the city with engaging platforms of contemporary work.

“One of the best ways for people to participate in the art scene, of course, is through collecting,” he said. “That’s why we’re here.”

Fishko and artMRKT have assembled galleries from New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Chicago, Tokyo and Buenos Aires. From Houston, there will be booths from Texas Gallery, Inman Gallery, Wade Wilson Art, Moody Gallery and Sicardi Gallery. Other Texas galleries include San Antonio's David Shelton Gallery, Austin's Champion Gallery, and Ballroom Marfa.

Texas Contemporary Art Fair runs Friday-Sunday at the George R. Brown Convention Center (Hall A), with a benefit preview party for Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and VIP preview party Thursday night. One-day tickets are $20, while three-day passes are $40. Three-day ticket with admission to CAMH and VIP parties are $100. Click here for details and schedule.