Secret Mall Apartment

Roman Mars brought me here. Featured on the 99% Invisible podcast, this story sounded wonderful and this documentary does not disappoint. Providence, Rhode Island has a mall, Providence Place Mall. It's 2003, the year that four friends decide to go live at said mall. Not shopping. Not hanging out, although they do both, but... live, for a week. Really just because why not. Americans love their malls, although this one has disgruntled some as its creation ironically replaced homes, rerouting rail tracks and rivers. Severed and relocated communities and priced many out of it altogether. We meet Andrea Valdez-Young, Michael Townsend, Andrew Oesch and Jay Zehngebot who are basically playing a game with very little plan other than to document it all, to see how long they can go before the mall security catches them out. There's one obvious flaw, where to sleep. Here we get to the origins of the mall apartment, or the 'nowhere space' as it begins. During construction, Michael had noticed an area that seemed to have no purpose. A void, surplus, abandoned, left-over... forgotten. Until the group attempt to make it a home. They're DIY rascals. Artists. Scavenging, scheming and improvising. It's all delightfully inventive, mischievous, but there's a moral undercurrent. The space is being wasted, they're duty bound to fulfil its potential. The mall apartment is not their first project. Providence is a place that's seen better days. Its industry has collapsed, the vacant buildings are repurposed as squats and artist spaces, for bands, for expression, for people and that's what's at the heart of this. People vs soulless developers. Before long, the group has expanded and the initial rush has passed. It's no longer a game. They've settled in, eating pizza, playing video games, planning public art installations. Now eight strong with Colin, James, Greta and Emily. It's decided that for safety, this is now their secret. No outsiders. The theme music that's used by another podcast, The Rest is Politics throws me off momentarily, but this is really engaging stuff. They work hard and are the epitome of positivity. It's not just the apartment, that's the focus of course, but this digs into the people and their philosophy. Mainly Michael, he's the teacher, the father figure, the spark and there is a lot of spark! There's a lot going on here and it's all beautiful. It's not just a great story, it's a great documentary in its own right, one that continues to push the message at its core of art and life being one and the same.

Saw this months ago, and was fortunate enough to see it with my son in the actual mall where the tale took place. We missed the "featured" showing with people from the movie in attendance by a couple of days, but did get to see their handiwork in blue tape silhouettes throughout the mall.

That said, I think this film is worth seeking out, and I hope to rewatch with my wife and other son one of these days. It does capture a lot of what art can do (helping in hospitals, healing in wrecked cities, encouraging youth to take chances, finding a higher path above the capitalist bottom line, inspiring blistering rock music - hello Lightning Bolt!!).

But it also shows how an artists life is a struggle, financially and anti-fascistically. Also how an artist with an overriding calling, and be more wed to that than their spouse.

Michael Townsend is certainly at the center of the film, and his charisma and confidence help get past the security guards positioned strategically around your heart.

I do also like the importance of documenting what you do, since you never know... See also Sun Ra new albums still coming out? Granted I could see how the little Secret might have been more special to a select few and had it never been exposed, ultimately I think it is good that it got out.

Also it may help to play air hockey with someone you love after watching the movie. It did for me...

I absolutely loved this. I hope I would have come across this if it wasn't for Jesse eisenberg but who knows. I've been a fan of him since Roger dodger so early days. I don't think many people in the Uk know about this yet or ever will. But I loved it. The 9/11 stuff moved me to tears. Michael was and is an incredible human being that doesn't measure success in money. He has dedicated his life to making peoples life's better and I get not everyone especially wives and girlfriends will get that. It was especially poignant when his girlfriend said he regularly has less that a dollar in his account. This document at tells us what is wrong with the world. This man is making pre-banksy art for for kids who are dying. I can't believe none of that never got considered when he was caught. Knowing him he didn't want it considered. He is an awe inspiring person and it was great to hear everyone speak so highly of him cause it was clear that his mission was just to make every bodies life a little better. An amazing film.

Granted, I am an artist. I just thought it was a beautiful and inspiring story. Love the exploration of who Michael is as an artist. Love that he doesn't prioritize the almighty dollar. Live that he spreads goodwill and creativity everywhere he goes. He was compelled to create the apartment..just for the sake of it. No, it wasn't out of necessity, nor some kind of hooligan rebellion, nor a money making scheme. He reminds us, with all of his projects that beauty is is own excuse for being.

I'm a life long RI resident, so it was fun to see the familiar newsroom faces, Umberto from AS220, some RI landmarks, and to get some Providence history that I wasn't aware of. Definitely a must see for Rhode Islanders.