Back in 2003, eight artists embarked on an unusual creative experiment inside Providence Place, a shopping mall in Providence, Rhode Island.
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artists → embark → Providence
Led by artist Michael Townsend, the group secretly constructed a 750-square-foot apartment in an unused section of the shopping centre.
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group → lead → centre
They furnished the hidden space with everyday items, including a sofa, television and gaming console, and used it as a place to spend time together.
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They → furnish → time
The artists continued their secret project for approximately four years, staying there intermittently before mall security eventually discovered the apartment in 2007.
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security → continue → 2007
What began as an experiment in reclaiming commercial space later became the subject of the documentary Secret Mall Apartment, directed by Jeremy Workman, and a community arts initiative involving the same shopping centre.
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began → begin → centre
How the secret mall apartment was created
The project was organised by Michael Townsend and involved seven other artists: Adriana Valdez-Young, Colin Bliss, Andrew Oesch, Greta Scheing, James Mercer, Emily Ustach and Jay Zehngebot.
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project → create → artists
The group had connections to Providence’s creative community and had experienced the loss of artists’ spaces during redevelopment in the city.
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group → have → city
Their project inside Providence Place was influenced by concerns about commercialisation, gentrification and the disappearance of independent artistic environments.
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project → influence → environments
Rather than simply seeking free accommodation, the artists viewed the apartment as an artistic and social experiment.
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artists → seek → experiment
They wanted to explore how people could use a commercial property in a way that differed from its intended purpose.
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that → want → purpose
Inside the 750-square-foot apartment
The hidden apartment was constructed in an unused area within the mall’s structure, near the cinema and parking facilities.
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apartment → hide → cinema
The artists concealed the space behind a wall made from cinderblocks and installed a lockable door.
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artists → conceal → door
Over time, they transformed the empty area into a furnished living space.
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they → transform → space
The apartment reportedly contained a sofa, television, PlayStation, books, photo albums and other household objects.
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apartment → contain → sofa
The group also brought in appliances, including a waffle-maker.
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group → bring → maker
The space did not have running water, meaning the residents relied on public facilities in the mall.
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residents → have → mall
They also used the shopping centre’s electricity, making the apartment dependent on the infrastructure of the building they had entered without permission.
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they → use → permission
The artists lived there intermittently
Although the apartment existed from 2003 to 2007, the artists did not necessarily live inside it continuously.
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artists → live → it
Members visited and stayed in the space at different times, turning it into a meeting point where they could socialise, rest and work on creative ideas.
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they → visit → ideas
The group initially expected the project to last only about a week, but the experiment continued for several years.
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experiment → expect → years
The apartment gradually became more elaborate as the artists added furniture and personal belongings.
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artists → become → furniture
Their activities demonstrated how an ordinary commercial environment could be transformed into a private space, even though the arrangement was unauthorised and hidden from the mall’s management.
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arrangement → demonstrate → management
Director Jeremy Workman (right) stands with artist Michael Townsend on April 27 beside a recreation of the secret apartment that Townsend and his fellow artists built inside Providence Place mall.
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Townsend → stand → mall
How the secret was eventually discovered
The apartment remained undetected for approximately four years.
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apartment → discover → years
In 2007, Townsend invited an artist from Hong Kong to visit the space.
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Townsend → invite → space
The visitor’s presence attracted the attention of mall security, which subsequently discovered the hidden apartment.
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which → attract → apartment
Townsend later acknowledged that bringing an outsider into the space violated one of the group’s rules.
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bringing → acknowledge → rules
The discovery brought the experiment to an end and led to legal consequences for Townsend.
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discovery → bring → Townsend
While the project involved eight artists, Townsend became the principal person associated with the incident and accepted responsibility for his involvement.
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Townsend → involve → involvement
Michael Townsend faced a trespassing charge
Following the discovery, Townsend was initially charged with breaking and entering.
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Townsend → face → discovery
The charge was later reduced to misdemeanour trespassing.
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charge → reduce → trespassing
He pleaded no contest and received six months of probation in October 2007.
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He → plead → October
Providence Place also banned him from entering the shopping centre for life.
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Place → ban → life
The incident raised questions about property rights, artistic freedom and the limits of creative intervention in privately owned commercial spaces.
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incident → raise → spaces
For the artists, the apartment represented an attempt to challenge the conventional use of a shopping mall.
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apartment → represent → mall
For the property’s management, however, the hidden construction and unauthorised occupation created security and legal concerns.
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construction → create → concerns
The project became a documentary
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project → become → ?
The story later inspired Secret Mall Apartment, a documentary directed by Jeremy Workman.
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story → inspire → Workman
The film combines archival footage recorded by the artists with interviews conducted years after the apartment was discovered.
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apartment → combine → interviews
The footage provides a record of the group’s construction work, daily activities and unusual living arrangement.
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footage → provide → work
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
