The couple who secretly lived in a shopping mall

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. Frustrated by the redevelopment sweeping through Providence, Rhode Island, the evictions of artists and displacement of friends, they saw the mall as a symbol of everything wrong with their changing city. When they discovered a large disused space inside the mall, they decided to secretly occupy it – an act of protest that became a home, complete with waffle maker and a TV. But what started as a wild and creative adventure began to take over Adriana and Michael’s lives – and their marriage.

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Louise Morris and Maryam Maruf

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(Photo: Michael Townsend and Adriana Valdez Young in the early 2000s sitting next to each other in a restaurant, he is kissing her cheek. Credit: Michael Townsend)