Torrance Names 2026 Excellence In Arts Award Winners

TORRANCE, CA — Eight artists, performers and organizations will be honored next month as Torrance celebrates its 48th annual Excellence in Arts Awards.

The City of Torrance announced the 2026 recipients Tuesday, recognizing contributions spanning dance, theater, music, literature, visual arts and arts education.

This year's recipients are:

• Dance: Sabrina Manzi
• Drama & Theatre Arts: Bradley Allen Lock
• Emerging Artist: Noel Takaya
• Katy Geissert Award: Regina Klenjoski
• Literary Arts: Peter Lefevre
• Music: Andy Hill and Renee Safier
• Tom Rische Arts Education: North Torrance Youth Musicians Ensemble
• Visual Arts & Design: Allison Zahorik

The Excellence in Arts Awards date to 1977, when the Torrance Cultural Arts Commission began recognizing individuals, organizations and businesses for outstanding contributions to the arts in the city.

Among this year's honorees, Klenjoski has previously been recognized by the city, receiving the Excellence in Arts Award for dance in 2000. She is the artistic director of the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company and has worked as a choreographer, performer, educator and arts advocate.

This year, she will receive the Katy Geissert Award, which the city says recognizes people whose work has made a lasting impact on the arts in Torrance.

Drama and theater arts recipient Bradley Allen Lock is one of two resident costume designers with the Torrance Theatre Company.

The North Torrance Youth Musicians Ensemble, which will receive the Tom Rische Arts Education Award, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 to provide music education for young people. Known as nTyme, the organization offers instrumental programs ranging from orchestras and string ensembles to concert and jazz bands.

Music recipients Andy Hill and Renee Safier are also familiar names in the South Bay music scene. The pair have performed together for decades and have staged their annual Bob Dylan-themed Dylanfest in Torrance.

The awards recognize artistic contributions to Torrance and the wider South Bay community and are presented through the Torrance Cultural Arts Commission, which is supported by the Cultural Services Division of the city's Community Services Department.

The 2026 Excellence in Arts Awards ceremony will feature performances and presentations beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at Toyota Meeting Hall, 3330 Civic Center Drive in Torrance. The event is free and open to the public, and no RSVP is required.