In 2003, eight young Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment in a hidden space inside the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years, filming everything along the way. They snuck in furniture, tapped into the mall’s electricity, and even secretly constructed a brick wall with a locking door, smuggling in over 2 tons of cinderblock. Far more than just a wild prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all its inhabitants — a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, a clubhouse to coordinate their artistic charity, and finally, a 750 square foot space that sticks it to the man.
