In a world full of documentaries that try too hard to create meaning, “Secret Mall Apartment” achieves something remarkable: It reveals the extraordinary within the ordinary without ever feeling contrived. Director Jeremy Workman presents a story that feels effortlessly profound, revealing the layered humanity behind a deceptively simple act of rebellion.
In the early 2000s, artist Michael Townsend and seven other artists from Providence were pushed out from Fort Thunder, an artistic warehouse that had been demolished amid ongoing gentrification efforts in Eagle Square.
This wave of gentrification had been prompted by the construction of Providence Place a few years earlier. As these spaces were constructed in the area of the artists’ former homes, the documentary showed Townsend beginning to observe the mall’s construction. One day, he noticed peculiar gaps in the building’s structure that didn’t seem to serve any purpose. After the mall opened, he returned to see if he could locate one of those forgotten voids. To his surprise, he did.
Townsend reflected on his discovery, asking himself what would happen if he reclaimed this space to make a quiet statement against the city who had taken his artistic space. This sparked his idea to construct an apartment within the mall.
The documentary draws heavily from low-resolution video footage captured by the artists themselves during the 2000s.
This technical aspect enhances its intimate feel. The grainy, low-resolution footage creates a contrast with the slick, curated environment of modern footage capturing the mall itself.
Audiences witness the meticulous process of smuggling building materials, furniture and household items into the mall through ladders and emergency exits. The apartment gradually took shape with fortified walls, a door with a lock and key, couches, a dish cabinet and an entertainment system. It even included plans for wood flooring and plumbing that were never realized.
For four years, the eight artists — Townsend, Adriana Valdez-Young, Colin Bliss, James J.A. Mercer, Andrew Oesch, Greta Scheing, Jay Zehngebot and Emily Ustach — treated the apartment as a means of organizing community art initiatives. These initiatives focused on creating public art that helped people through hard times, from making tape art in hospital rooms to memorializing the firefighters who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in public art.
What makes this documentary so compelling is how it captures the evolution of an idea. What began as a protest against gentrification turned into an exploration of space, identity and connection. The eight artists constructed an alternative reality that existed in parallel with the commercial ecosystem surrounding them. Their secret spot became both a refuge from and a commentary on the consumer culture that had displaced them.
In present-day interviews, the artists speak of their time in the mall apartment with a mixture of nostalgia, pride and wonder. The documentary also captures the authentic warmth of their connections.
Workman’s directorial approach deserves particular praise for its restraint. He allows the story to unfold through the archive of original footage and thoughtful interviews, resisting the urge to impose a heavy-handed narrative framework. The film trusts its audience to appreciate the nuances of this unusual experiment without explicit messaging. As the artists discuss how living in the mall began to influence their sense of self, the film raises profound questions about authenticity in a consumer-based society.
A portrait of human adaptability and resilience emerges from “Secret Mall Apartment,” as these qualities are portrayed as earned rather than proclaimed. The film shows human responses to displacement not with resignation but with imagination.
The documentary also captures the bittersweet reality that even the most meaningful experiences are often temporary. When Townsend is finally caught, there’s a sense of inevitability rather than tragedy. The project was always destined to end, just as the artists’ earlier community at Fort Thunder ended. Yet the film suggests that impermanence doesn’t diminish significance. Rather, it heightens it.
In an era when so many documentaries feel manufactured for maximum emotional impact, “Secret Mall Apartment” stands out for its authenticity. It doesn’t need to tell us that it’s exploring profound themes about human nature. Instead, it shows humans being resourceful, creative and connected in extraordinary circumstances. The result is a film that resonates not because it makes grand claims about human nature, but because it quietly reveals it through a story as unusual as it is universal.
Summer Shi is a senior staff writer and illustrator for the Brown Daily Herald. She is from Dublin, California and is currently studying design engineering and philosophy.
