Museum of the Riverina manager Tim Kurylowicz with the 2010 Bald Archy Prize winner, Patti’s Cake by Judy Nadin. Photo: Wagga Wagga City Council.
Entries are open for the 2026 Bald Archy Prize, marking the 30th iteration of Australia’s premier satirical portraiture prize.
The $10,000 acquisitive prize is awarded for the best comic or satirical portrait of an Australian distinguished in art, science, letters, politics, sport, or the media.
For three decades, the Bald Archies have been a foil to the pomposity of the Archibald Prize, with its penchant for flattering Australia’s celebrity class.
Fittingly, the Bald Archies are judged by a sulphur-crested cockatoo rather than a panel of critics.
After Peter Batey OAM, the prize’s originator, passed away in 2019, the administration of the Bald Archy Prize was taken up by the Museum of the Riverina, based in Wagga Wagga.
Museum of the Riverina manager Tim Kurylowicz said the “Bald Archies have a special place in the hearts of Australians and is a proud product of the regions”.
“It’s been 30 years of bringing country communities together to have a laugh and enjoy some amazing art, which is a milestone worth celebrating.
“Portraits must be inspired by an event or incident that took place in the 12 months prior to 1 January 2026. With everything from a federal election to a MAFS cheating scandal in 2025, there is no shortage of colourful characters deserving the Bald Archy treatment this year.
“When selecting a winner, our wise judge Maude the Cockatoo looks for works that are funny and insightful; she’s not into ‘hate portraiture’ or ‘soap box art’ that browbeats its audience.”
Each year, the Bald Archy Prize opens at the Watson Arts Centre in Canberra, where the launch of the exhibition is held, and the winner is announced.
Following this, the exhibition goes on a year-long tour of regional NSW and Victoria, before completing its journey at the Museum of the Riverina – Historic Council Chambers site.
In 2025, 48 portraits were entered into the Bald Archy Prize, with Sydney-based artist Phil Meatchem announced as the winner for his painting Despicable Ploy, a caricature of the former leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton.
The 2025 Bald Archy Prize exhibition is touring to Deniliquin and Temora before its final showcase at Wagga Wagga’s Museum of the Riverina in December.
Artists looking to enter the 2026 Bald Archy Prize can do so now. For conditions of entry or to find out when the tour is visiting near you, go to the Bald Archy website.
