Mineral School
We provide accepted artists with space and time to create new work without the interruptions of normal life and with the bonus of healthy meals. During each residency, we host visiting artist presentations as well as resident "show & tells" -- both are dessert potlucks.
PO Box 214
Mineral, WA 98355
United States
Residency Program Information
Residency Program Summary
Application Information
We offer residencies for adults 21 and up. We do not exclude people currently enrolled in fine arts higher education (BFA/MFA). Please visit our Submittable page for information about special sessions (Spanish-language specific, parent-specific) and fellowship opportunities for writers and artists from the Pacific Northwest, who are BIPOC, or who are LGBTQ+ visual artists from the Pacific Northwest. We offer a mix of fellowships and low-cost paid residencies; if you apply for a fellowship for which you're eligible, you can elect to also be reviewed for paid residency. (This way, you are juried as narrowly or broadly as you wish within one application fee.)
Our Submittable page with application information is here.
We charge $450 for a one-week residency and $900 for a two-week residency, including all meals and snacks, linens, and programming. We can provide transportation from points along the I-5 corridor (airports, Amtrak, bus stations, towns/addresses) between Portland, OR and Seattle, WA for a $25-30/fee each way.
Our fellowships cover the one-week ($450) or two-week ($900) residency fee, including room and board, and include transportation from within the Portland-to-Seattle corridor along I-5 (pickup/drop-off at airports, bus stations, Amtrak, your aunt's house), so the artist pays no fee other than getting to Portland/Western Washington.
We have one fellowship which provides a larger travel stipend -- from $125 to $400 -- and that is the Erin Donovan Writing Fellowship.
Accessibility
Depending on an artist's mobility, we are not 100% accessible. The main school building is single story and has a ramp entry as well as disabled parking. The 9-foot wide halls and smooth floors are fine for those with walkers and wheelchairs. Most doors (to your studio room, in and out of the dining room, to and from the deck) are 36 inches wide, but doors into the bathrooms are narrower and not accessible-width for all wheelchairs (travel wheelchairs have worked, and these should be fine for a walker). To shower you will need to be able to step into or otherwise get over the shower pan's raised rim. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have concerns about accessibility; we have hosted residents who have maneuvered easily in travel wheelchairs and with walkers, as well as residents who have brought caregivers who share a room with them (rooms have two queen beds apiece).
Most of residency takes place inside the main school building, so it should be accessible. Everything is on one story, including the common area where residents and visiting artists present.
The entry doors to the bathrooms in the main school building are narrower ("in" and "out" doors with a column between them). Before a resident who is dependent on a wheelchair comes, we'd like to send dimensions/photos and discuss if we can work for them.
Housing & Accomodation
The dining room and library/presentation room are on the main (single) floor of the building. All furniture is movable, so it is easy for a person using a wheelchair to roll up to a place at the dining table, or to choose a place in the library/common room for presentation nights.
Studio & Facilities
We can offer tables and task lamps, but expect visual artists to bring their own supplies. On arrival day, we let visual artists decide where they might like to work and can help move furnishings/tables to a placement that works for them in their room or outside of their room.
The building has heat throughout but not all rooms have air conditioning. Windows open and fans are provided. The gym is well-insulated and locked and provides another option as a place to work.