About aNAK
aNAK is a recurring series of immersive, nature-forward retreats for people creating across disciplines. Each experience blends grounding practice, facilitated dialogue, hands-on workshops, chef-led meals, and time outdoors, structured to support creative work and community in a more sustainable way.
It's carefully built for people who take what they make seriously and want space to do it better.
Based in Brooklyn, gathering in the wild.
Lauren Santiago - Founder, aNAK
How It Started
Anak, which means “my child” in Tagalog, is what my mother has always called me, and still does.
The name holds the heart of this work: honoring our inner child, protecting creative curiosity, and creating spaces where people are supported as whole humans, not just for what they produce.
I’m a multidisciplinary creative working across filmmaking, music, and storytelling. Over the years, I’ve also built communities and designed experiences for people navigating creativity, identity, and purpose.
Along the way, I began to notice what was missing. Creative spaces often ask us to perform. And nature-forward spaces often feel inaccessible to many of the communities I come from.
aNAK was born from the desire to bridge that gap, and I'm deeply committed to shifting that reality with care, intention, and respect for the people it serves.