"Secret Mall Apartment," a documentary from 2024, delves into the fascinating true story of a group of artists who covertly inhabited a Providence shopping mall for four years. The film, which recently became available on Netflix, explores their unique living situation, born out of a desire to challenge gentrification and rampant consumerism. Directed by Jeremy Workman, the documentary offers an intimate look into their lives, blurring the distinctions between artistic expression and everyday existence, and is set to captivate a global audience through its streaming release.
The narrative centers on Michael Townsend, an adjunct professor and drawing instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). In 2003, Townsend, along with seven collaborators, many of whom were his former students from RISD's summer program, ingeniously constructed a hidden apartment within the bustling Providence Place mall. This audacious project was conceived as a silent protest against the encroaching forces of gentrification and the pervasive influence of consumer culture. Their objective was to highlight the mall's expansion into Eagle Square, an area that had historically served as a vibrant hub for artists in the early 2000s.
For a period of four years, the group maintained their secret residence, often spending up to three weeks at a time living within the mall's confines. They meticulously documented their hidden lives using small digital cameras, capturing the mundane and the extraordinary aspects of their unconventional existence. The clandestine apartment remained undetected until its discovery in 2007. Following the revelation, Townsend faced legal repercussions, ultimately receiving a probation sentence in October and a lifetime ban from the mall for trespassing.
The documentary masterfully portrays the project's impact on the artists' lives and its resonance within the city, suggesting its continued relevance even today. As noted in a review by Alissa Wilkinson for the New York Times, the film compellingly argues that this artistic endeavor left an indelible mark on the participants and potentially on Providence itself. It serves as a thought-provoking examination of the often ambiguous boundaries between creative expression and the realities of daily life.
This film, now accessible to a vast new audience on Netflix, is a compelling exploration of unconventional living, artistic activism, and the ongoing dialogue between art and society. Its arrival on the platform ensures that the extraordinary tale of these artists and their secret mall apartment will continue to spark conversations about urban development, consumerism, and the definition of art in contemporary times.