Exclusively designed for a single group of guests, each resort accommodates up to 20 or 30 guests across 10 to 15 suites positioned around sparkling swimming pools and expansive living, dining, and entertainment areas. A full complement of staff takes care of every detail, including visits to the resort’s local ÀNI Art Academies campus, situated nearby.
Says Tim: “The crossover between the resorts and our schools offers guests a truly enriching experience. The campuses are beautifully landscaped, with pavilions in which guests can enjoy the scenery and perhaps the sunset while watching the students at work. This is often when art gets purchased, with all proceeds going to the artists themselves, as guests meet the students and learn their stories, while witnessing their incredible talent honed through years of hard work.”
Before an ÀNI apprentice even picks up a pencil, they are taught the discipline of how to set up and care for their tools, their easels, and their space. Apprentices start learning fundamentals like how to properly hold a pencil and competently draw a straight line. They progress to perfecting the execution of spheres, cones, cubes, and other shapes, and understanding the principles of light, draftsmanship, and visual perception. The level of competency in these fundamentals can take years to achieve, and this is the key to creating fine art to the level of excellence for which ÀNI Academies are known.
The brand, founded by philanthropist and arts patron Tim Reynolds which provides an intensive, multi-year art skills education to aspiring artists at absolutely no personal cost
Over a four-year period, apprentices are encouraged to develop their own creative voice and go beyond the rudiments of just being able to draw a good picture. They take the subject or the visual format and push it to a different level by evolving it, perhaps narratively or historically. Each artist decides what kind of story they want to tell, and each is mentored individually by the Academy’s Dean.
“When students of ÀNI Art Academies graduate, the goal is for them to have a full toolbox of skills. From photorealism to abstract painting, they can paint anything, as their artistic development has been supported through learning,” says Tim.
When Tim started this initiative, he felt that placing some of the strongest artistic training into the hands of emerging artists around the world would give rise to a generation of creatives capable of contributing exciting new ideas, sharing robust cultures, and pioneering new means of connection and communication through expression on a scale previously unseen. Over the past decade, this vision has come to impressive fruition. Yet as Tim makes clear: “The success of ÀNI Art Academies is not measured by revenues, rather, it is and will continue to be measured by how many people this program has touched.”
Rates start from 13000 USD per night all-inclusive for six suites (minimum bookings of five nights) Bookings: aniprivateresorts.com
Drawing its name from the Swahili word andjani which means ‘journey ahead’, ÀNI is the world’s first private resort collection. Founded in 2010, ÀNI offers exclusive retreats in the most beautiful and far-flung corners of the earth, from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia. Each ÀNI destination is designed exclusively for a single group of guests, accommodating up to 20 or 30 guests across 10 to 15 suites.
Currently offering four resorts worldwide, ÀNI’s destinations include Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Dominican Republic, and Anguilla, each claiming panoramic ocean views in a pristine natural setting. Consummately private, each resort operates as an all-inclusive except ÀNI Anguilla which is on a half-board basis.
They support their local ÀNI Art Academy and offers every facility and space a group of guests could possibly desire during their stay. A full complement of staff (between 20 and 30 per resort) tailors every detail – from dining and spa treatments to kids’ activities and exploration of the region – to ensure a bespoke experience that defies expectations.
