L.A. County to Celebrate Arts With Free Weekend Events : Arts: Music, dance, dramatic readings and museum exhibitions are on the lineup to mark National Arts and Humanities Month.

In addition to sports and topical issues, Californians also care about the arts.

According to a study by the Washington, D.C.-based Policy Economics Group, 24 million people paid admission to nonprofit California arts exhibitions or events in 1993, generating close to $200 million in ticket sales. And in addition to the $254 million in grants that nonprofit organizations receive from the government, arts groups and audiences generate an additional $2 billion in revenue for the state.

With such a receptive audience close at hand, Saturday’s first “Los Angeles County Open House ‘95” should be well attended, especially since it’s being presented free of charge. Coordinated by the Los Angeles County Music and Performing Arts Commission and sponsored in part by Gannett Outdoor and the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, the event opens county museums to the public and gives more than 100 participating organizations the opportunity to present artwork, music, dance and dramatic readings throughout Los Angeles County.

Although the event is new to the area, similar events have taken place across the country. October has been named National Arts and Humanities Month and, according to Anne Murphy, an administrator who oversees 23,000 arts groups as the executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Cultural Alliance, cities such as Chicago, Baltimore and Ft. Lauderdale plan to dedicate the first Saturday of October to annual celebrations of the arts.

“I see it as an invitation to the people of Los Angeles to own the heritage that is rightfully theirs and celebrate it, as well as see the breadth of activities that the city offers,” Murphy says.

“Many people walk by the museums but never think about going inside. I say go in, there’s a lot inside that belongs to you. The same is true with the humanities. When you read your child a bedtime story, you’re taking part in the humanities.”

Laura Zucker, executive director of the Los Angeles County Music and Performing Arts Commission, views the event as a way to make the arts accessible to people who normally wouldn’t pay to visit such venues. With something happening at various points throughout the county, Zucker says there’s an opportunity to sample many events in one day.

One could easily go to the Peterson Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard, walk across the street to hear the Northwind Quintet at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, then travel to Exposition Park to visit the Natural History Museum and the California Afro-American Museum.

The Watts Tower Arts Center, meanwhile, is presenting an exhibition of prints by Self-Help Graphics, the renowned Latino graphic arts workshop. The events are intended to encourage people to visit neighborhoods outside their own.

“We say to everyone, be an urban explorer,” Zucker jokes. “When we first put out the notice, we had no idea that we would have 100 organizations respond, from the smallest nonprofits to some of the largest in the city. We decided not to restrict it to nonprofits, as to make the event as all-inclusive as possible, to reach the broadest interests of the public.”

* For information about events: (213) 688-ARTS.