Eight Rhode Island artists set up a secret apartment in an off-map crawl space of Providence Place mall in the early 2000s. The group made the forgotten concrete back room into a home, complete with a TV, dining table, and couch, using materials scavenged from abandoned mill buildings. Their living space was heavily influenced by design magazine Dwell.
The artists, including Adriana Valdez Young and Michael Townsend, were curious to explore the mall’s hidden spaces and create art projects. They filmed their escapades and eventually created a new documentary about their experience, which debuts March 21. The project highlights the tension between affordable space for creatives and the development of Providence Place.
In an interview, Valdez Young said, “When you’re really weird, you don’t think anything you do is weird.” Their art project was both an exploration of their community’s needs and a critique of the commercialization of retail. The documentary sheds light on the city’s creative scene and its struggles with affordable space.
Today, some are calling for the redevelopment of Providence Place into housing, addressing the city’s growing anxiety about the future of mill buildings like Atlantic Mills. The artists’ experience serves as a reminder of the need for creative spaces that balance artistic expression with economic viability.
Source: https://www.dwell.com/article/secret-mall-apartment-providence-place-documentary-interview-b201e0d5