Can you imagine having an unauthorized apartment in a shopping mall? Well, 8 artists did, and occupied an "non-purposed" space in a shopping mall for roughly 4 years!
- - - - - -
I had nothing much to do today, and didn't want to start any tasks that would spend a lot of energy on a hot day. So, I figured that I'd wait until almost dinner time and drive to the movies to see a documentary - Secret Mall Apartment. This is the true story about how an artist (with 7 artist friends) found an unused space on a Providence, RI mall's property with an unguarded way to access that space. Once in that space, the artist (and friends) gradually set up a living space in that 700+ sq.ft. area in which they made their own for almost 4 years.
How, you might ask, did he find his way into the place? Well, he remembered that there were some strange nooks on the site which didn't have any logical reason for being used. Yes, they could be accessed from the non-public areas of the mall. But there was also one way to access this area from the outside without detection.
Over time, the artists found multiple ways to gain access to this space, found furnishings at the Salvation Army Store to make this place more like a private apartment, and found a way to build a new wall to separate this space from areas the average security guard would notice. Before this apartment was found, if I recall correctly, they were looking for ways to have running water in this space.
Sadly, 1 of these 8 people was caught, and he was banned from the mall forever. In an ironic twist of fate, this man was invited back to the mall for the premiere of the film. But then, the owners of the mall are considering turning part of the mall into residences. Maybe the artist was simply ahead of his time after all?
