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Located in Mineral near the border of Lewis and Pierce counties in the foothills of Mount Rainier, the Mineral School has been offering overnight artist residencies along with public art events.
Now, the nonprofit artist organization is rebranding and will now be now known as Mineral Arts & Residencies (MARS), according to a news release.
“But you can call us MARS, like the planet, if you wish,” the release added.
The name change comes to help distinguish the organization from the Mineral School building’s owners, who also use the building for a wedding and event center, and also host large Airbnb bookings in it throughout most of the year.
Along with a new name and logo featuring a flying saucer hovering over Mount Rainier designed by Morton artist Sara Smiley, MARS has other changes coming in the near future.
While MARS doesn’t own the Mineral School building itself, its offer to purchase the Mineral Presbyterian Church building was accepted. The closing process is currently underway and the organization hopes to make the old church building its new headquarters.
“We're very grateful that the leadership and congregation of the church and the regional Presbytery have given us this opportunity,” the release stated.
Additionally, MARS is partnering with the Mineral Lake Lodge and the Elkamp campground to house artists, along with the historic Jimmy Beech House in Ashford.
Applications for fall 2025 and spring 2026 artist residencies with MARS are now available and will remain open through Thursday, May 15. There are 32 residencies available during six sessions. Participating artists are provided with space, food and access to the community and surrounding natural areas for their work.
To apply, click the Submittable link on MARS’ website, https://mineral-school.org/.
The organization is also hoping to grow its roots within the Mineral community.
“Our origin story involves Seattle-ites coming to Mineral with an appetite for elbow grease, bowls of chili, and the ability to laugh at ourselves when serving as butts of jokes about ‘flatlanders.’ But in our best years pre-pandemic we collaborated locally more often on an art fair, music events, variety shows, during-residency arts activities open to the public, and so forth,” the release stated.
During the COVID pandemic, though, MARS focused on only its core, the outside artist residency program.
“With many new faces and community groups in Mineral and beyond, we'd like to open the door wider for arts activities for those living in around metro Mineral — not to impose programs, but co-develop activities rooted in local interest or where we could tap our large community of Northwest alumni to share and exchange expertise with folks living in Mineral and vice versa,” the release added.
