Secret Mall Apartment - Spectrum Culture

Secret Mall Apartment - 99% Invisible

The new documentary Secret Mall Apartment is about a group of artists who built, you guessed it – a secret apartment, inside of the mall. We interviewed the group’s ringleader Michael Townsend a few years back, and after the story, we’ll have an update about what’s happened since then. Plus, mall history with Alexandra Lange.

Secret Mall Apartment - Spectrum Culture

In 1999, construction on the Providence Place Mall began at the expense of those who were already living in the nearby neighborhood of Eagle Square, and in 2003, artist and teacher Michael Townsend had a bright — and very funny — idea: Why not live in the mall to make some sort of statement? The fluidity of what, exactly, that statement was is where the enjoyable and ever-evolving documentary Secret Mall Apartment, directed by Jeremy Workman, re…