Amherst College junior and former Knight Foundation intern Lee Oglesby spent her summer interning at the City of Miami Beach Department of Tourism and Cultural Development. Her boss Gary Farmer, cultural affairs program manager, asked Lee to describe her experience with the “convoluted juggling” of the 300 artists participating in this year’s Sleepless Night, scheduled for November 7, 2009. Here are Lee’s words… Sleepless Night, in a nutshell, is an all-night cultural celebration that brings together South Florida’s major art institutions, some of its most exciting performers, and a handful of headliners from around the world. It’s thirteen full hours of that magic that happens when you introduce new artists and new audiences to each other. And, thanks in part to a grant from the Knight Foundation, it’s entirely free. Working on the Sleepless Night event has been rewarding for me in a few unexpected ways.

Because our event is publicly funded, we want to ensure that it is open and accessible. By building a team of experts, I’ve learned that disabled members of the community make up a huge potential audience. And catering to that part of the audience can make the experience rewarding for everyone. I’ve also learned just how big of a cultural epicenter South Florida is. We’re only working with a fraction of the performers in Miami, but I’ve discovered dozens of new dance companies, theater troupes, and artist collectives. I’m excited to learn more about them, and see what else I’ve been missing.  Sleepless Night is a chance to give new audiences this same feeling of discovery that I’ve had. It’s a chance for artists to open themselves to people who may never have seen them otherwise. It’s a chance to create some really intriguing collaborations with artists who are juxtaposed with each other. But mostly it’s just really fun.