The 2008 campaign promise reads, "Barack Obama supports the creation of an "Artists Corps" of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities" and is an action that President Obama could take right now, by directing the Corporation for National & Community Service to start an Artist Corps program.
The current AmeriCorps program allows artists to apply, but there is little effort to prioritize arts education in order to reengage youth in their academic and civic lives, and provide them skills to succeed in the 21st century economy.
There is precedent for this proposal. In 1992-94, the National Endowment for the Arts partnered with Americans for the Arts so that nearly 60 local arts agencies could place artists to serve communities in need.