Anna Kwiecinska
creator of Writing by the Sea in Hydra
A Life Lived on the Roads Less Travelled
As a lifelong traveler, I have always sought the exhilarating challenge of adapting to new cultures. But I am at my happiest when I can share that spark with others.
My journey began with a ten-week trip to India that turned into a year. It set a lifelong benchmark: the thrill of heading off without a guidebook to see what might happen. That philosophy has led me from teaching in Kathmandu and sailing the Maldives in a traditional dhow to building a grass-roofed sanctuary, Villa Nilaya, in the quiet hills of East Bali.
From Medical Science to Early Sienese Art
My path has rarely been linear. I spent early professional years as a medical technologist, always hoping my skills would take me back to the Himalayas as a volunteer. However, a growing obsession with art history eventually won out over "sensible behavior."
I traded the laboratory for a year at the British Institute in Florence, followed by two years at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Under the guidance of Dr. Joanna Cannon, I specialized in Early Sienese Art—a pivot that set me on a permanent path of "art, art, art."
After years in London’s publishing world and a stint teaching in Portugal, I returned to Australia to immerse myself in the world of artists. For 17 years, I ran a commercial art gallery in Perth, representing emerging and established talent with a particular focus on Australian Indigenous art.
The Birth of Creative Living Retreats
My passion for the "hidden gems" of the world eventually evolved into Creative Living Retreats. What began 15 years ago in Bali as a series of painting and yoga holidays has blossomed into an international program.
Whether it was finding 18th-century hand-printing blocks in a loft near Jaipur or navigating the public insurrections of Sri Lanka during the pandemic, every challenge has shaped the way I curate experiences for others.
Today, my retreats have expanded from Bali to include:
-
The labyrinthine souks of Morocco with making art in Fes
-
The timeless light of Hydra, Greece for art and literary retreats
-
The historic canals of Venice for art-making, culture and cuisine
-
The baroque beauty of Portugal with art and writing retreats
The Invitation
Today, my retreats go beyond art-making. They are deep dives into creative writing, memoir, and literary history—merging the landscape with the desire for self-expression.
I research and curate extensively each season with one goal: to bring you closer to your own creative voice through the same exhilaration I felt on that first year in India many years ago ....
email me or send a text message on Whats App +94 75 660 7713
favourite quote?
"Much travel is needed before the raw man is ripened"
The Caravan of Dreams by Idries Shah
One of Idries Shah’s most-loved and seminal works, capturing in a collection of tales from the Middle East and Central Asia, the magic, wonder and power of Eastern lore.
Caravan of Dreams is a magical anthology that brings the reader closer to the spiritual essence of the Middle Eastern and Islamic wisdom traditions.
Collected by one of the world’s leading experts on Sufi thought and psychology, it distils the essence of Eastern thought in a feast of legends, sayings, poems, proverbs and anecdotes, and teaching-stories, ‘intended to lay a basis of knowledge about Sufism and its characteristic methods of thought'.
Through this work, Shah builds a picture of a single civilizational consciousness, whose rich and soul-sustaining narratives are, ‘a part of the most priceless heritage of mankind.’