Americans for the Arts reported yesterday the Democratic National Party included an "arts and culture" plank in its current year party-wide platform.

As part of the party's overall policy position and legislation priority list, arts and culture plays a role in what the party calls "strengthening the American community."  The platform's language on arts and culture features both arts funding and support for arts education, placing it in line with the Arts & Culture Policy Framework for Los Angeles County (click for PDF), where arts education, civic engagement, and cultural economy play primary roles in structuring the role of arts and culture in the region.

The party's stance on arts and culture is as follows:

"Democrats are proud of our support for arts funding and education. We are committed to continuing the policies and programs that have already done so much for our creative arts industry and economy. Investment in the arts strengthens our communities and contributes to our nation's rich cultural heritage. We will continue to support public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and for programs providing art and music education in primary and secondary schools. The entire nation prospers when we protect and promote the unique and original artistic and cultural contributions of the women and men who create and preserve our nation's heritage."

The Republican Party does not include arts and culture as a specific component of their current platform, although the platform emphasizes education "in which all students can reach their potential is critically important to America’s future."  During the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Republican arts supporters hosted an ArtJam in conjunction with the Americans for the Arts Action Fund to showcase the importance of arts and culture to American communities and the national and local economies.

Members of the Democratic Party also hosted arts advocacy events in Charlotte this week to give arts supporters an opportunity to make visible their support for the party's stance on arts and culture funding and arts education.

Photo credit: "At the voting booth" by theocean, on Flickr.