Anita: Meeting with a Former Student
Am 11. Mai 2026 hatte die Klasse 4D/ku im Rahmen des Projekts „Begegnung mit ehemaligen Schülerinnen“ die Gelegenheit, die ehemalige Schülerin Anita kennenzulernen. Sie erzählte offen über ihren kreativen Weg, ihre Reisen und ihre persönliche Entwicklung. Dabei sprach sie nicht nur über ihre beruflichen Erfahrungen, sondern auch über schwierige Zeiten und darüber, wie Kunst und Kreativität ihr geholfen haben, ihren eigenen Weg zu finden.
Anita explained that she often faced challenges in school. Outside, she seemed happy and creative, but inside, she often felt lost and insecure. She struggled to find her place and to meet others' expectations.
During her school years, Anita participated in many creative projects. She worked on wall paintings, marble sculptures, and theater costumes. Working with her hands mattered a lot to her. Even though she dealt with intense pain in her hands and doctors couldn’t explain it, she chose to keep working creatively. Over time, she noticed the pain eased when she engaged in activities she truly loved.
Anita continued to experiment with fashion and fabrics. She designed several sewing patterns and later developed a freer style. She even created her own collection featuring bold clothing in a “rave” style. After graduating, she photographed elements from nature for fabric patterns and later painted them onto clothing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anita kept working creatively. She assisted an artist in Eppan and helped produce wedding dresses. At the same time, she designed and painted masks. Photography became significant for her during this time. She made dresses from various fabrics and organized small photo shoots, where her sister often modeled.
A vital chapter in Anita’s life was her work in the film industry. She contributed to the movie “Das fliegende Klassenzimmer” in Glurns, handling props and costumes. She mentioned that this was the first time she felt part of something bigger, where creativity, teamwork, and storytelling came together. However, she also realized that the long hours and stress harmed her mental health.
Later, Anita began to travel solo. While in Australia, she worked on a mushroom farm, did babysitting, and assisted various artists with projects. There, she bought a Sony camera and learned manual photography. Looking back, she described this time as when she felt like a “nomadic artist.”
A particularly meaningful experience for Anita was her time in Fiji. She met spiritual women, helped with retreats, and photographed some events. She noted this was the first time she felt real happiness, even though the people there had very little. These experiences changed her outlook on life and influenced her creative work.
Today, Anita works as a freelance photographer and videographer. She attends yoga retreats in different countries and connects her work to themes like nature, self-love, and personal growth. She also focuses on sustainable textile art and natural plant-based colors.
Anita is a creative and inspiring person. She showed us that life doesn’t always go in a straight line. What impressed us most was her openness in sharing her experiences and personal development.
Anna Mayr
Im Mai fand im Rahmen des Projekts „Stories that connect“ ein Treffen mit der ehemaligen Schülerin Anita Geiser statt. Anitas Weg zur freiberuflichen Fotografin und Videografin war eine nicht lineare Reise der Selbstfindung, der Bewältigung schmerzhafter körperlicher Einschränkungen und der bewussten Entscheidung für einen nomadischen Lebensstil.
Ihre Geschichte begann 2011 mit einem Schulprojekt im Bereich Fotografie und hat sich seitdem zu einer Karriere entwickelt, in deren Mittelpunkt Energie, Kunst und „Selbstliebe“ stehen. Im Rahmen des Projekts „Stories that connect“ hat sie uns besucht und ihre inspirierende Geschichte mit uns geteilt.
After finishing school in Meran, Anita worked at a theatre in Bozen, where she helped create costumes and stage designs. During this time, she struggled with severe pain in her hands that made writing impossible. However, she noticed that when she used her hands creatively – for example, when she was making art and costumes – the pain eased, which showed her how therapeutic creativity could be. This experience motivated her to study fashion design in Vienna for two years, where she focused on a more intuitive, “freestyle” approach instead of strict formulas and numbers. For her diploma, she brought her interests together by printing her nature photography onto clothing.
Returning home was challenging, and Anita felt under pressure to finally “settle down”. She worked in several different jobs: as an embroidery artist in Eppan, as a seamstress, and even on film sets (including Das fliegende Klassenzimmer). Although the job was considered a success, the 60-hour weeks and the lack of personal freedom became too much. A solo trip to Portugal and the Azores – marked by emotional overload and many tears – became the starting point of her journey towards independence. Later she travelled to Australia, where she worked as an au pair and even picked mushrooms to finance her travels.
"Stay hungry. Stay foolish." – This quote by Steve Jobs serves as an important guide for Anita as she looks toward the future. Traveling, in particular, has deeply shaped her personal growth. A major turning point was her stay at a spiritual retreat in Fiji. Despite facing emotional challenges in her past, this was the first time she felt truly lucky. During a full moon ceremony, she burned a letter, declared "I am a nomadic artist," and changed her life forever. Later, in Bali, she attended an eco-print workshop, learning to dye natural fabrics using eucalyptus and handmade colours.
Now in her second year of self-employment, Anita works as a freelance photographer and videographer. She chose the brand name "Kalanita" because it offers enough space for both art and fashion. Her current portfolio is highly diverse:
Yoga Retreats: Capturing the essence of spiritual and physical wellness.
- Self-Love Shootings: Helping others through her lens while continuing her own journey of body acceptance.
- Life Milestones: Photographing a birth, which was a deeply moving experience for her, as she hopes to become a mother one day.
- Multimedia: Expanding her skills into videography and selling her photography as fine art prints.
For Anita, work is all about energy and joy. She believes that money is not the main goal, but a resource that needs to circulate: "It needs to go to come back." Although she does not feel like she has "arrived" yet, she fully enjoys the journey. For the future, she plans to host her own workshops and create sustainable art focused on natural materials and plant-based colours. To fully embrace her creative freedom, she recently cancelled her apartment. She is now following her nomadic calling, proving that courage and curiosity can lead to a deeply fulfilling life.
Anna Pauli
