welcome!

The ArtsVote initiative, which began in May 2007, was successful in securing written arts policy statements from seven of the 2008 presidential candidates, and raising the visibility of the arts and arts education during the presidential campaign. Please explore the ArtsVote.org website to view the campaign materials.

Campaign Highlights

December 9, 2008—President and CEO Bob Lynch's letter to President Elect Obama thanking him for his support of the arts and culture during the Meet the Press interview.

December 7, 2008—In this election, the Americans for the Arts Action Fund raised the public dialogue about the arts and arts education throughout the entire campaign cycle: from presidential primaries in New Hampshire to congressional races in all 50 states. Through our ArtsVote2008 initiative, we successfully advocated for presidential and congressional candidates to make strong, public statements and commitments in support of arts and arts education.

Please view our multimedia timeline for further details on ArtsVote, and watch President-elect Obama on the first Sunday morning television interview since winning the election as he discusses his plans to make an impact through arts and culture at the White House.

October 3, 2008—Just released from the Arts Action Fund: Summary of 2008 Presidential Candidates Arts Positions
To date, we have shared with you Senator Barack Obama’s comprehensive arts policy proposal that he began issuing in February 2008. Unfortunately, the McCain campaign has not been as forthcoming, despite numerous formal requests from the Arts Action Fund and Senator McCain’s own supporters over the last year. However, we are pleased to report that Senator McCain has now issued a short statement that he released in an article for today’s Salt Lake City Tribune.

The Americans for the Arts Action Fund, in partnership with NAMM, co-hosted events discussing the future of the arts and arts education in America at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.  

The event at St. Paul during the Republican National Convention took place at the Minnesota Children's Museum on September 2, 2008. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee moderated a panel of elected officials, advocates and arts leaders. Featured speakers included: Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS); Executive Director and CEO US Conference of Mayors Tom Cochran; Emmy-award winning actor, dancer, choreographer, producer, director, and author Debbie Allen; Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne; acclaimed country music singer, songwriter, and producer John Rich; and Missouri Governor Matt Blunt.

• Arizona Star: "Arts education helps create well-rounded students"
• Stateline.org: "You know, Republicans do like art, too"
• Fox 9 News: "Huckabee for the Arts"

On August 26, 2008 at the Democratic National Convention, former U.S. Secretary of Education and former Governor of South Carolina Richard Riley moderated a panel at the Museo de las Americas in Denver. Congressional Arts Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), musician John Legend, philanthropist Sheila C. Johnson, and U.S. Conference of Mayors President and Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz were among the featured speakers. Links below feature some of the event highlights.

• Denver Daily News: "Don’t forget about arts"
• CBS 4: "Legend in Denver to Promote Arts Funding" (video)
• NYPost.com: "John Legend Serenades DNC" (video)
• Air America: "Doing Time w/ Ron Kuby" - John Legend interview
• CNN: Soledad O'Brien interviews John Legend at the DNC convention
• NBC 9: Celebrities Perform for DNC Crowds (video)
• The Michael Baisden Show: interview with John Legend at the DNC convention

"The Arts: Investment in the arts is an investment in our creativity and cultural heritage, in our diversity, in our communities, and in our humanity. We support art in schools and increased public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. We support the cultural exchange of artists around the world, spreading democracy and renewing America’s status as a cultural and artistic center."

One of the objectives of the Arts Action Fund is to secure bold, new policy proposals in support of the arts and arts education in America from candidates in the 2008 presidential primary. ArtsVote Pro-Arts Policy Brief distributed to Presidential campaigns describes how candidates for national office could strengthen public policies in this important sector. The Arts Action Fund will be providing this set of 10 arts-related topics with bulleted policy proposals to all candidates for national office and asking that they adopt these or similar proposals as their own.