In 2003, when affordable housing was being demolished for parking-lot space in Providence, Rhode Island, a group of starving artists helmed by Michael Townsend covertly moved into the newly constructed Providence Place mall—and weren’t caught for four years. The mall apartment became an art project in and of itself for the group of seven painters, some of whom were Rhode Island School of Design alumni. Townsend was happy to work in a community because otherwise “there was no thrill in the adventure.” Find a small cinema near you and laugh along with the audience as these young artists bend the rules to create a room of one’s own. “If you make the mall your home,” Townsend asks, “how do you become that space?” —Andie Blaine