This film review includes spoilers.

In the early 2000s, a strong wave of guerrilla art surged through the United States. “Yarn bombing” was popularized, and “radical urban gardening”—also called guerrilla gardening—made a comeback from the ‘70s. Once again, artists asked questions like what art is, where it belongs, and why it can be so exclusive.

In 2003, eight artists in Providence, Rhode Island took this concept, literally, to a new level when they covertly – and sometimes not so covertly – moved into a hidden space in the local mall and occupied it for four years. 

Such is the premise for the delightful, probing and melancholy “Secret Mall Apartment,” directed by Jeremy Workman and screening two more times during the Milwaukee Film Festival.

The Providence Place Mall opened in 1999 to revitalize the city, still reeling from the Rhode Island Banking Crisis during which approximately one-third of the state lost access to their bank accounts. It was also a time of great gentrification, and artists and freethinkers were evicted from their beloved and affordable Eagle Park neighborhood dwellings – which were later razed and rebuilt for a status quo demographic. 

Meanwhile, they perceived the mall’s construction as a symbol of greed, capitalism and classicism that adversely affected their livelihood and sucked the originality and innovation from the languishing city when it needed it the most.

Thus, artist Adriana Valdez Young had the idea to move into an unused, concealed space within the mall with her then-husband, Michael Townsend, and six of their friends. The bold action started out as a joke to see who could live in the mall the longest without getting caught – but quickly developed into an act of resistance, communal living and an exploration of removing the line between life and art.

Their ability to build a private art space in a public corporate mall also shows how much is possible when it’s done with purpose and confidence. The artists get away with mall security run-ins and daily use of the mall restrooms. However, they also make the important point that much of their “luck” was due to white privilege, and that Black and Brown mall dwellers would have been more heavily scrutinized. 

In a short amount of time, the roommates transformed the dark, dusty, lightless alcove into a livable environment with thrift store furniture, electricity and a lockable door. Some of the funniest scenes – and there is a ton of humor in this documentary– include their shopping excursions to Goodwill and the challenges of moving large items into the extremely-difficult-to-access apartment that was protected by alarms, walls and steep, ladder-esque staircases.

For four years, they ate, slept, played video games, partied and documented their experience through a 12 mega-pixel digital camera. They reveled in the irony that the mall sold exactly what they created in their free space: a home filled with beauty and contentment.

But most importantly, they crafted extraordinary plans for public art projects. These projects, which they executed during and after their time in the secret apartment, included the ambitious Hope Project Collages. For this, the group created portraits in public spaces made from painter’s tape of every person who lost their life during the September 11th attacks. The effort was similar to grafitti art, but the use of tape instead of spray paint made it temporary.

Alas, in classic “nothing gold can stay” reality, law enforcement terminated the lease that never was, and consequences came due. But the artists remember those four years with pride, and to this day carry the key to the secret mall apartment on their keychains.

“Secret Mall Apartment” shows Monday, April 28, at 4:45 p.m. at the Downer Theatre and Wednesday, April 30, at 6 p.m. the Oriental Theater. Go here for tickets and more information.