GROTA did not begin with confidence or certainty—it began with a longing.

“{…}During the isolation of my teens, art evolved as my language when words felt as if they had forsaken me. [...] A narrative blossomed in my chest—one where I had something of value to offer the world. [...] In my role as an art educator, I found this passion first manifest through encouraging my students to explore their unique artistic voices. [...] There was a revelation between my love of teaching and my experiences in that course that the service I felt soulfully compelled to offer the world didn’t quite exist yet, and this meant it would be up to me to find a way to build the foundation and foster the connections to make it a reality.{…}”

— Vincent Gothe, excerpt from Envisions Magazine

What makes a house a home? For GROTA, it is the presence of kindred spirits—artists who bring their stories, laughter, and creativity into its halls, transforming a solitary vision into shared belonging. Something, of course, it takes more than one man alone to accomplish—

“{…}Though it seems quite apparent now: what was the point of a home without a found family—without guests—to share in its memories with? [...] As I had hoped it might happen, a few of these same artists [those who participated in visionary projects at the time of GROTAs founding] have become my closest friends—not just through our artful collaborations, but through our shared philosophy of the arts, vulnerability, and countless memories shared through the years. It is this found family—these beautiful souls I trust with all my heart—that I envision bringing life to the manor, enchanting its halls with laughter and memories, ensuring each resident feels not as a stranger through the doors but as a cared-for and celebrated guest{...}”

— Vincent Gothe, excerpt from Envisions Magazine

“How often do we allow ourselves to accommodate our creative process rather than simply rushing our projects to completion?

I believe it is when we slow down to embrace the world around us—when we are present with our art and acknowledge our deeper artistic nature—that we resonate most with the work we create. The creative process is a central value of GROTA because it is only from presence that an artist’s vision begins to form—and can continue to grow. Allow me to illustrate the value of embracing one’s creative process with a personal anecdote I relate deeply to this realization—both of my own potential and of GROTA:

Nine months before GROTA’s founding, in March of 2022, I took on a curious security job as a graveyard shift museum attendant at The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. {...} There was something intimate about being in the majesty of such a place long after it had closed to the public—not as a visitor but as a guard through the night. {...} And as I haunted the museum at night, between the fierce shadows in the courtyard, the restless ghosts of the Old Masters, the stars shooting over the rose garden, and the blood-red moon setting over the horizon from the tower of the Ca’ d’Zan, I caught a glimpse of something yet to exist but could—an unspoken promise, a reflection in the faces of gilded frames.

{...} The museum never belonged to me—but the experiences, the memories, and the connections I forged there—those are mine, forever and always to hold close in my heart. So, too, I imagine they will appear again in my art.”

— Vincent Gothe, excerpt from Envisions Magazine