The Rotary Club of Holbrook, NSW, is tickled pink (and maybe a little cockatoo yellow) to announce the Bald Archy Awards are flying back into town for the second year running.
This is no ordinary art show. Known as The Irreverent Portrait Prize, the exhibition is judged by none other than Professor Maude Cockatoo – a feathered critic with a sharp eye and even sharper beak. As the Late Peter Batey OAM quipped:
“It takes 11 galahs to judge the Archibald but only one cockatoo to judge the Bald Archy.”
Expect wit, satire and just enough scandal to keep you grinning. And remember, the only fate worse than being caricatured at the Bald Archys, is NOT being caricatured at the Bald Archys!
From 20 September to 19 October, more than 40 brilliantly cheeky portraits of the famous and infamous will be on display at Holbrook’s historic 110-year-old Shire Hall in Young Street.
The grand GALAH Opening kicks off on Friday 19 September at 6pm. On hand to do the honours will be Mr Justin Clancy MLA, Member for Albury (though sadly no artist was bold enough to paint him this year – perhaps next time Justin!), while Greater Hume Shire Mayor Leah Parker will be there to make things official.
So, flock to the Holbrook Shire Hall and prepare for feathers to be ruffled, egos to be poked and plenty of laughs to be had. After all, it’s not every day you get art, history and cockatoo comedy rolled into one.
For more information contact Bruce Quick via 0412 693 662 or brucequick@icloud.com
The official opening function tickets can be purchased at https://events.humanitix.com then search ‘Holbrook NSW’.
The Bald Archy Prize is currently the only art competition in the world judged by a sulphur crested cockatoo.
With an online PhD from the Marilyn Munro University of Little Rock, Professor Maude Cockatoo is the most qualified art critic, avian or otherwise, in Australia (according to Maude). As Coolac’s Visual Arts Laureate, Maude has been the sole judge of the Bald Archy Prize from its inception at the 1994 Coolac Festival of Fun.
While the Coolac Festival of Fun was retired after 12 years, due to public demand the Bald Archy Prize lives on. It encapsulates the irreverent, larrikin Australian spirit in a way that appeals to people from all walks of life. It is now internationally known and has been exhibited across Australia. Winning subjects have included Kerry Packer, Shane Warne, John Howard, Pauline Hanson and myriad other Australian icons.
Maude’s number one rule for a prize-winner is that it must be funny. Her idea of humour, according to a 2015 interview, includes, “Wit, slapstick, satire, vulgarity, farce, black comedy, irreverence and everything else that falls between high and low comedy”. On the other hand, Maude loathes ‘hate portraiture’, or ‘soap box art’ as she calls it.
For further 2025 Bald Archy tour dates across the country, visit https://baldarchy.com.au/tour-info