Feb10

secret mall apartment.

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Secret Mall Apartment takes you inside the wild true story of a hidden apartment built in a shopping mall.

The 2024 documentary, now streaming on Netflix  revisits the artists who built a secret apartment inside the Providence Place mall in Providence, R.I. The eight Rhode Islanders hung out/lived in the 750-square-foot space on and off for four years, from 2003 to 2007.

The group of artists came up with the plan after real estate developers tore down their artists’ commune about a mile away from what would become the mall. In addition to being a statement against the developers, the space was also used as an art collective for local artists planning projects.

The story went untold for years, but the eight people got together to tell their wild tale in the documentary, Secret Mall Apartment. “This is an insane climb up the cultural ladder — from absolute obscurity to something where so many people have at least the option of seeing it,” they told Boston.com in January 2026.

To document their piece of performance art, they bought cameras from the Radio Shack and filmed their journey.

“The archival footage is just incredible,” Secret Mall Apartment director Jeremy Workman told Columbia University School of the Arts. “They filmed everything with this tiny ridiculous camera they bought for $129 at Radio Shack, and it was small enough to fit in an Altoids case, which made it easy for them to film constantly.”

Workman has said that as he worked on this film, he “quickly learned that they created the secret apartment to make a statement against gentrification. They had lost their homes as a result of development, and this was their unique personal way to show developers that they weren’t going anywhere.”

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I was fascinated by their story, where the idea sprang from, and how it grew over time. The things they were able to pull off at the mall and the art they created outside in the world away from the mall were extremely creative and amazing. It’s an unusual documentary that asks the question about what is art and what is real life? The line is often blurry.

‘art hurts. art urges voyages- and it is easier to stay at home.’

-gwendolyn brooks

 

*Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was an American poet, author and teacher,  famous for being the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize.

source credits: Boston.com, Dwell Magazine, Rhode Island Monthly

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34 responses »

  2. That is known here as ‘squatting’. Though it is now illegal here since 2012, squatters still have some ancient rights in law. ‘Occupants may acquire legal ownership of land or non-residential property through “adverse possession” after 10 years (registered) or 12 years (unregistered) of uninterrupted, active possession’.
    When I lived in London, empty buildings were often taken over by groups of squatters protesting about housing shortages, high prices for rentals, and gentrification of certain areas.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  6. I saw that title pop up on Netflix and thought it was some sort of teen angst movie remade from the 80’s! I was imagining the cast from the Breakfast Club all living in a storage room in the back of a Wet Seal or Claires :)

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    • yes, more malls are working on reusing the space, our mall here is doing this presently. this is interesting because they had to do it illegally and it a mix of protest, art, and social experiment

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