ACCA PROGRAM LAUNCH 2025–2027
ACCA PROGRAM LAUNCH 2025–2027
Performance Ritual by Benjamin Skepper
Presented Saturday 31 May 2025
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) Melbourne
VIDEO ON INSTAGRAM
On Saturday evening, I was invited by Artistic Director and CEO Myles Russell-Cook to perform a special impromptu work as part of the launch of ACCA’s 2025–2027 artistic program.
In his program statement, Myles writes:
“In a cultural landscape increasingly driven by profit, selfie moments, and blockbuster appeal, there’s a deeper power in art—one that invites careful attention, imagination, and connection.”
I resonate deeply with this vision.
Responding to Myles’ words and the curatorial themes of Loneliness, Rage, and Joy, I offered a rare acoustic improvisation for solo cello — performed on a sacred instrument I acquired in Rome in 2014, and had never before played in public.
Before performing, I wandered the museum space with my cello — listening, sensing, and allowing the architecture and atmosphere to guide my gestures. This work blurred the lines between performance art, sound art, and contemporary classical improvisation. It was a meditation in sound.
Loneliness began with sparse pizzicato plucks, performed out of sight, as I slowly entered the space — creating a moment of surprise and attentiveness.
Rage emerged through percussive techniques: bowing the wood, striking the strings, “sounding” the metal scaffolding of Tina Stefanou’s installation You Can’t See Speed. Metallic timbres and bodily intensity merged, releasing catharsis in a visceral soundscape.
Joy closed the work: lyrical and melancholic melodies emerged as I returned to a seated position, completing the arc of my emotional ritual.
Throughout, the audience was not just witness but co-creator — their presence shaping the energy and the space. It was a shared experience of resonance, vulnerability, and deep listening.
“Art is a bridge—between polarities, between people, between worlds. It helps us hold contradictions, make space for discomfort, and opens conversations that might otherwise remain impossible. At ACCA, we believe there is power in this type of tension. By creating spaces where people can come together not just to agree, but to feel, to listen, and to challenge ourselves”.
I’m truly grateful to have opened ACCA’s new chapter with this offering. As contrapuntal Studio + Salon settles into its next evolution here in Naarm (Melbourne), this performance marked a moment of powerful return — and new beginnings.
