Bald Archy Prize

The Bald Archy is an Australian art prize, which parodies the prestigious portraiture award, the Archibald Prize. It usually includes cartoons or humorous works making fun of Australian celebrities.

History

It was founded in 1994 by theatre director and actor Peter Batey, it is judged by Maude, Batey's cockatoo. The winning 2023 portrait featured Batey flying through a cloud filled sky on the back of Maude the cockatoo.
When asked about the prizes' choice of judge, Batey states:
“It takes 12 galahs to judge the Archibald but only one cockatoo to judge the Bald Archy,” - Peter Batey OAM, 2016
Since 2005, the home of the competition and its accompanying exhibition has been the Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga. However, in 2008, the prize was announced during the Canberra, [Australian Capital Territory|Canberra] portion of the national tour.
Batey died in June 2019, in a car accident near his home at Coolac, [New South Wales].
Peter Batey bequeathed the past winning portraits and the rights to run the annual prize to the Museum of the Riverina in Wagga Wagga. The Museum relaunched the Prize in February 2023.
In 2024, the touring exhibition visited Australian regional galleries including Holbrook, Deniliquin, Corowa, Temora and finishes in Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.

List of winners

Year – Artist – Title

1994 – Rocco Fazzari – Yuk! Mr Edmund Capon
1995 – Alan McClure – Kerry's Goal
1996 – Rocco Fazzari – Warhead
1997 – Vincent de Gouw – John Howard Washes His Hands Of Pauline Hanson
1998 – Peter Wilkinson – Shane Warne: What Me Worry?
1999 – Eric Lobbecke – Cyclops – Government's One-eyed Nemesis
2000 – Dave Ross – Yes Possums! It's Australia's First Lady and Patron Of The Bald Archys
2001 – Eric Lobbecke – The Skase Chaser
2002 – Xavier Ghazi – Mutant
2003 – Louise Klein – What Odds?
2004 – Xavier Ghazi – I'll Eat You In The End
2005 – Tony Sowersby – The Cardinal With His Abbott
2006 – Matt Adams – Brown-Stain Janus-Faced
2007 – Xavier Ghazi – There's Nothing Like Barry
2008 – James Brennan – The Official Portrait of the Danish Royal Family
2009 – – Old Owl Eyes is Back
2010 – Judy Nadin – Patti's Cake
2011 – Xavier Ghazi – Bad Ass-Ange
2012 – Allie Campbell – A Fitting Frame 1 and 2
2013 – Warren Lane – The Banquet of Gina and Ginia
2014 – Judy Nadin – Wrecking Balls Ashes to Ashes
2015 – Xavier Ghazi – Archibald and the Bald Archy, a Photo Bomb
2016 – Pat Hudson – Nothing to Say
2017 – James Brennan - Pocket Rocket
2018 – James Brennan - Ahn Can Do
2019 – Simon Schneider - Geoffrey
2020-2022 awards were not run
2023 – Marty Steel - ''Never a Dull Moment ''