Secret Mall Apartment and the Blurred Line Between Life and Art

March 28, 2025

Jeremy Workman’s documentary looks back at a project that may sound like a joke but
had serious underpinnings.

Inside Secret Mall Apartment: The True 4-Year Story of Domestic Life in a Shopping Center

March 21, 2025

A new documentary explores the saga of artist Michael Townsend’s clandestine Providence mall condo: “I was arrested three days before the wood floors went in”

The Wild Story of Eight Artists Who Secretly Made a Mall Their Home

May 5, 2025

Artnet News situates Secret Mall Apartment within the context of contemporary art and collective practice, framing the project as a sustained, conceptual intervention rather than a stunt. The article highlights Townsend’s role in shaping the work as a response to the loss of artist space and the privatization of public life, positioning the apartment as both a lived installation and a critique of consumer architecture.

They Lived in a “Secret Mall Apartment” for Years. Now, They’re Telling the Story

March 28, 2025

A group of artists turned a hidden shopping center nook into a clandestine home: “At that time, I had a copy of Dwell and I was like, How do we make this something livable and desirable?”

Season 6 Episode 13: Hole in the Mall

March 27, 2025

Pamela Watts interviews the man who lived lived in a hole in the mall. Michael Townsend explains how he got away with it and other capers.

The couple who secretly lived in a shopping mall

January 28, 2026

Adriana Valdez Young and Michael Townsend were part of a rag-tag group of artists who built a secret apartment inside a shopping mall in the early 2000s. Their story is now told in the Netflix documentary, Secret Mall Apartment.

How to Live Inside a Mall for 4 Years

March 21, 2025

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Secret Mall Apartment Review: Banned and Noble

March 21, 2025

Through its exploration of artistic integrity, community displacement, and creative rebellion, Secret Mall Apartment transforms an urban legend into a profound social commentary.

The Talented Founder Of Tape Art Micheal Townsend Inspires The World w/ Art!

February 3, 2026

Micheal Townsend Interview with Sharonda Pope on FLT podcast.

Artist/Activist MICHAEL TOWNSEND has such passion and sheer joy when he talks about the compelling story of SECRET MALL APARTMENT

January 29, 2026

Artist/activist MICHAEL TOWNSEND is from Providence, Rhode Island, and was developing his TAPE ART project when a major redevelopment in the city center was going to make him homeless. When the ginormous new Mall was being built, he thought he had spotted what seemed like an unused space behind the main construction.

All American Ruins: “The Anti-Ruin: Michael Townsend and the Secret Mall Apartment”

May 22, 2025

On today’s bonus episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, you’re going to meet the undesignated leader of that now-infamous group of scoundrels — and learn why Michael Townsend thinks that art, in all of its limitless possibilities, feels most sacred when it’s temporary.

Episode 227: Michael Townsend's Secret Mall Apartment

January 29, 2026

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with artist and educator Michael Townsend. Michael is the founder of the Tape Art movement and for over 30 years, he has created hundreds of ephemeral murals and community projects around the world. His work includes the 9/11 Hope Project, the invention of the BOOM! Projector, and the now-legendary documentary Secret Mall Apartment.

Making It: Michael Townsend on Tape Art, Art Education and Secret Mall Apartment

February 4, 2026

In a focused interview, Townsend discusses his artistic philosophy, the role of misbehavior in creativity, and the importance of making art accessible beyond traditional venues. The conversation links Secret Mall Apartment directly to his tape art practice and his interest in ephemeral, people-centered work.