contrapuntal Studio Fundraiser 2025-30

contrapuntal Studio launches Phase II Fundraiser

We’re thrilled to announce our official fundraising campaign via the Australian Cultural Fund (ACF) — a tax deductible giving platform supporting the next chapter our creative vision.

As we seek space of a cutting-edge music studio, tech lab, wellness centre, art gallery, and cross disciplinary residency space, your donation will help us build a bold, artist-led institution for sound, art, and tech and innovation.

This is a grassroots movement: the power of the creative underground has always driven culture forward: fearless, independent, borderless and free.

Please donate now via ACF (tax deductible) → LINK TO CAMPAIGN

TIERS OF SUPPORT

Giving Tiers (Summary)

Our tax‑deductible giving is tiered each level delivering increased impact and benefits.

Microtone (up to $1,000) – Seed the future. Support Melbourne’s newest sonic arts studio.
Pulse ($1,000–$4,999) – Power the creative engine. Fund equipment + tech prototyping.
Echo ($5,000–$9,999) – Let your support resonate. Back seasonal programs and artist residencies.
Resonance ($10,000–$19,999) – Shape immersive rituals and advance health + wellness R&D.
Overture ($20,000–$49,999) – Co-create a signature Salon series or international project.
Cadenza ($50,000–$99,999) – Contribute to a residency, artwork, or fund modular infrastructure.
Symphony ($100,000+) – Be a founding force. Launch Genetic Music, build spatial audio-visual architecture, shape legacies.

ABOUT US

contrapuntal is an artist-led creative studio founded by Benjamin Skepper, fusing music, art, tech and wellness. Now in its 17th year, we are building our permanent home in Fitzroy, Melbourne.

RETHINKING THE CULTURAL FRAMEWORK

contrapuntal is an artist-led creative studio founded by Benjamin Skepper, fusing music, art, tech, science and wellness. Now in its 17th year, we are seeking a new home for a purpose-built music studio, lab and creative space for cultural production. This independent, interdisciplinary site will be a platform for sound innovation, interdisciplinary creation, and art that responds to our cultural moment. It will support emerging and established voices alike, across disciplines and borders.

We’ve held three sold-out studio fundraising events in 25-26 through our Tokyo-born seasonal series: “A Taste of the Senses”: a one-night communal gathering, blending live performance, fine dining, spatial sound, immersive installation and dance culture, into a multi-sensory experience. This marked the beginning of our Australian public fundraising campaign as the studio enters its next phase of growth.

Stage II focuses on activating a physical site and anchoring our public programs. Beyond this, we are developing a bold pipeline of work across music, film, immersive installation, and wellness technologies, building a model focused on long-term sustainability and artistic excellence.

We are raising funds to drive this vision forward – to bring to life a working cultural institution with local roots and global reach.

STUDIO VISION: 2025–2027 CREATIVE PIPELINE

Your support will directly fund the development of core studio projects and infrastructure including:

TOURING: ECHOES – live AV performance project ready for international touring

R&D: LUMINESCENCE – a cutting edge AV performance work, new album in R&D with Yamaha Music

ARTS + SCIENCES: WAVES – an immersive soundscape installation and live performance based on nobel prize awarded gravitational wave theory and data

FILM: WITH LOVE, FROM HIROSHIMA – a feature film and multimedia operatic score honouring personal ancestral memory, resilience and the Japanese diaspora

WELLNESS: GENETIC MUSIC – a wellness-focused R&D stream exploring the therapeutic potential of sound through patented tuning systems

These foundational works will be realised from a new Melbourne base, which will house a cutting edge spatial sound system (an Australian first), modular AV infrastructure with LED walls, artist workspaces, and technical facilities for public and private research, education, presentation, and high-end branded collaborations.

YOUR SUPPORT

Stage II of our capital raise aims to secure $250,000, which will be used to:

Support creative development and public programming across our core major projects
Equip and Install high-fidelity sound infrastructure and build out lighting and AV capacity for modular performance and exhibition including staffing costs

This is an indication of how your contribution will support a turnkey foundation for creative excellence, rigorous research and experimentation, cultural production, and community led participation.

TIERS OF SUPPORT – FULL DESCRIPTION

1. Microtone (up to $1,000)

Quiet support. Every note is amplified.

Impact Examples:

Enable one local artist’s inclusion in a Salon exhibition or performance
Fund design and print for a public program zine or poster series

Benefits:

Acknowledgment in digital annual donor roll
Access to one public Art Salon event
Quarterly newsletter with program updates and insights

Primary Division Focus:

Art Salon — support for exhibitions, local artist access
Publishing — help publish and share new ideas and media assets

3. Pulse ($1,000 – $4,999)

A rhythmic heartbeat. Building Momentum.

Impact Examples:

Provide audio/visual equipment and technical materials for a major pipeline project (e.g. LUMINESCENCE, WAVES)
Contribute to acoustic treatment or L‑Acoustics system staging
Support development of our Genetic Music App

Benefits:

Priority Access to exclusive Art Salon dinner invitation (you + guest)
Behind-the-scenes studio preview or rehearsal invitation
Name recognition in select print and digital platforms

Primary Division Focus:

Music Studio — technical access, small project production support
Tech Development Lab — early-stage tools and custom gear
Publishing — small-run outputs

4. Echo ($5,000 – $9,999)

Your gift echoes across time, supporting programs and people.

Impact Examples:

Fund artist travel and fees for a Salon series or creative residency
Support the delivery of a Wellness Ritual or sound healing session
Enable a pop-up performance during a public event
Support a full seasonal residency or cross-disciplinary program

Benefits:

1 immersive Salon Dinner (you + guest)
Invitation to annual donor recognition evening
Program credit under “Echo Patrons”

Primary Division Focus:

Art Salon — seasonal program support
Residency Program — hosting local, interstate and international creators
Wellness Studio — sound workshops, sonic rituals

5. Resonance ($10,000 – $19,999)

Creating lasting resonance through spatial sound and wellness R&D.

Impact Examples:

Underwrite a co-commission or new AV performance (e.g. SYNSONICA)
Advance spatial sound system rollout (L‑ISA by L‑Acoustics)
Support interdisciplinary research and publication across art, medicine, science
Fund R&D for sonic wellness and immersive AV rituals

Benefits:

2 immersive Salon dinners (you + guest)
Priority RSVP access to all public programs and previews
Behind-the-scenes invitations
Donor welcome gift (a limited-edition art object)
Priority seating + invitations to rehearsals and tours

Primary Division Focus:

Tech Lab — R&D for immersive systems
Commissions & Co-Creations — collaborative creation with institutions and brands
Publishing — cross-disciplinary outputs

6. Overture ($20,000 – $49,999)

Shape a new sonic movement. Power the creative engine.

Impact Examples:

Fund a full co-creation process: sound, scent, AV ritual (contrapuntal Wellness experience)
Commission an interdisciplinary art-science residency
Contribute to final build phase of studio or digital platforms

Benefits:

All Resonance perks
4 exclusive Art Salon dinner invitations (you + guest)
Creative + Programming input opportunity or ideation session
Named “Overture Patron” credit in print, site, and signage

Primary Division Focus:

Wellness Studio — Genetic Music + Wellness Offerings
Residency — international programs and development
Advisory — development of strategic IP-led platforms

7. Cadenza ($50,000 – $99,999)

Claim your solo. Fund creative production, infrastructure and residencies.

Impact Examples:

Name a featured residency, work, or AV experience
Fund publication of a book, musical album, digital work or scientific paper
Build modular gear for live AV wellness research and tech development

Benefits:

All Overture perks
6 exclusive Art Salon dinner invitation (you + guest)
Project/residency/publication naming rights
Private studio tour with artist/tech collaborator
Recognition in major donor roll & physical salon signage

Primary Division Focus:

Public Art Fund — long-term equity and sustainable frameworks for artists
Media + Publishing — new music, artist books, multimedia and art objects
Tech Lab — custom-built modular hardware/software builds for multi-purpose outputs

8. Symphony ($100,000+)

A masterpiece in collaboration. The full orchestration. Become a founding force in the future of art and sound.

Impact Examples:

Co-lead the Genetic Music launch and monetisation pathway
Underwrite spatial sound studio architecture and future-proof systems
Fund long-term R&D across neuroscience, sound therapy, and immersive media
Establish named endowment, fund, or studio co-curation stream

Benefits:

All Cadenza perks
Curatorial role for major season or program initiative
Exclusive access to all Art Salon and Studio events (you + guest)
Invitation to salon retreat or concert tour (you + guest)
Recognition across all communications
Annual private dinner with Artistic Director and studio collaborators

Primary Division Focus:

Genetic Music (Wellness Studio) — flagship app and R&D for custom assets
Tech Development Lab — biometric systems, spatial architecture
Art Salon — permanent infrastructure and international outreach
Public Art Fund — developing long-term growth and administrative support

JOIN US

17 years in, this is just the beginning.

Our long-term vision is to create a sustainable cultural institution with local roots in Melbourne and deep global impact: one that is led by artists, anchored in integrity, creative excellence and sustainability, and designed for the next generation of creatives and thinkers.

Together, we’re laying the foundation for a creative institution that’s experimental, inclusive, and future-facing.

To learn more please reach out directly: contact@benjaminskepper.com