Woolworths played host to the launch of the 2011 Archibull Prize yesterday at their head office at Bella Vista.

Community Investment Manager Virginia Tomlinson said “Woolworths is proud to be a supporting partner of Art4Agriculture and the 2011 Archibull Prize.  It’s an exciting program with a fresh approach to talking to future generations about the importance of sustainable food production.  The Archibull is a very smart way to build agricultural and environmental awareness through art, creativity and teamwork.”

Students from 21 schools have begun their quest to learn what it takes to feed Sydney for a day.

The students are participating in the Archibull Prize, an Art4Agriculture initiative that uses art and multimedia to promote the important role agriculture plays in our lives.

Art4Agriculture is a network of young farming champions who deliver events and activities that focus on youth, career opportunities, the environment and the arts, all with a link back to agriculture.

This year, the Archibull Prize asks students reflect on the theme “The Rural – Urban Divide – What does it take to feed Sydney for a day?”  Schools are provided with a blank fibreglass cow that students will decorate to highlight what they’ve learned about the challenges of housing and feeding the world with a declining natural resource base.

“The average person doesn’t consider the resources required to keep a city well fed, let alone the world!” says Jamberoo dairy farmer Lynne Strong, who Chairs Art4Agriculture.

“It’s staggering enough to discover you need 90,000 cows to produce 1.3 million litres of milk that Sydney consumes every day, but then how much land do you need for those cows? How many people to run the farm? How much feed for the stock?  These are the questions we hope the students will consider along the way.”

Participating schools have received their blank cows and have been randomly allocated an agricultural commodity that they are to feature in their artwork. These include beef, grains, sheep (wool & meat), dairy, chickens (eggs and meat) and cotton.   They then use the blank fibreglass cow to inspire or create an artwork or design.  They can paint it, film it, project onto it, create an animation with it, drape it with things, photograph it, or create an installation or a sculpture.  Students are also required to make a video, keep a blog and design a PowerPoint presentation tracking their journey from blank cow to masterpiece.

The completed “Archibulls” are judged by an independent panel to determine the winner.  They then go on display at various locations around Sydney allowing the general public to vote for the People’s Choice award. The “Archibulls” are also exhibited at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, providing a total audience of around 1 million people for the students to share what they’ve learned.

“This year we are excited that a group Young Farming Champions will visit and support the schools during the project” said Lynne Strong. “These young farmers will provide information about their industry, assist the students with the development of their ideas but most importantly, provide a young face of modern farming which we hope will inspire the students.”

The Archibull Prize builds a bridge for farmers and communities to reach out to each other, share stories and improve understanding and work through potential solutions together.

“It’s so important that farmers and consumers reconnect.  This will help our young rural people farm with confidence that they’re responding to consumer needs, while the city students will learn about agricultural production and be able make better decisions as consumers.” said Lynne

In addition to Woolworths, the program is also supported by RIRDC, Meat & Livestock Australia, LandLearn NSW, Kondinin Group and Primary Industries Education Foundation.
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The “Archibulls” will be completed by 11^th November with the winners announced early December,

List of Schools Participating in the 2011 Archibull Prize

PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Maraylya Public School
Macarthur Anglican School
Windsor Public School
Schofield Primary School
St Michael’s Catholic Primary School

Alice Betteridge RIDBC School

Mt Druitt Tutorial

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

St Ignatius College

Richmond High School,

Caroline Chisholm College,

Colo High School.

Rouse Hill Anglican College,

Muirfield High School,

Northholm Grammar School,

Model Farms High School.

Terra Sancta College,

Crestwood High School,

Cranebrook High School,

Hurlstone Agricultural High School,

Quakers Hill High School,

Castle Hill High School

Photos of the Launch can be found on our Flickr page