Remember the time a group of artists built a secret apartment inside the Providence Place mall and lived there (rent-free) for parts of four years?
Their story is about to make the big screen.
On March 8, South by Southwest will show the world premiere of âSecret Mall Apartment,â a documentary on the project that captured attention across the globe after Michael Townsend and his friends were caught by mall security in 2007. (Townsend was banned for life from the mall. Talk about a soul-crushing penalty ⦠if he had been a 13-year-old.)
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It turns out that the artists filmed the entire experience, and now their story is going to be shared with the world. It sounds like weâll finally get to learn how they smuggled two tons of cinderblocks into the mall without getting caught, according to a description of the film.
The story has been told in parts and bits over the past 17 years, most notably in a 2018 podcast and a detailed story in Londonâs Daily Mirror. But a featured documentary at South by Southwest will likely bring a new level of attention to Townsend and the other artists.
âSecret Mall Apartmentâ is directed by Jeremy Workman, and one of its executive producers is Jesse Eisenberg, who would play a great Townsend if they ever decided to make a motion picture out of the story.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If youâd like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
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Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
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KINGSTON, R.I. – Dec. 8, 2025 – Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay and students, faculty, and staff at the University of Rhode Island have been using the evolving technology for research, teaching, and innovation purposes.
The effective and creative ways AI has been applied across the University will be discussed and displayed at “Discovering AI @ URI Day,” on Dec. 10 from 4-7:30 p.m., in rooms 040 and 045 of URI’s Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering, 45 Upper College Road, on the Kingston Campus.
The free event will feature guest speakers, panel discussions, and poster presentations. Refreshments will be provided. The URI community is welcome to share their AI success stories. Those interested in attending the event are encouraged to RSVP.
URI Ph.D. student Anissa Elias presents research on using machine learning to enhance the security and resilience of the U.S. power grid to the Office of Naval Research program director and industry leaders.
“As Rhode Island’s flagship R1 research university, URI has the responsibility to lead in the development and thoughtful application of AI across higher education,” said URI Assistant Vice President for Research Computing Gaurav Khanna. “By leveraging advances in AI, URI will expand discovery, prepare students for an AI-shaped workforce, and drive innovations that benefit Rhode Island and beyond.”
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Khanna is also the director of URI’s Institute for AI and Computational Research. The institute supports and promotes high-level interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary computational research, including AI-related research.
Guest speakers at Discovering AI @ URI Day will include:
Victoria Gu, chair of the Rhode Island Senate Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology and representative of District 38 in the Rhode Island Senate
URI Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Wolfe
URI Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President for Information Technology Gabriele Fariello
Yan (Lindsay) Sun, certified AI strategist and co-director of URI’s Center for Cyber-Physical Intelligence and Security (CYPHER), which she founded
“Artificial intelligence touches nearly every aspect of higher education,” said Sun. “What makes the Discovering AI @ URI event special is that it reflects this full ecosystem. We’ll hear not only from faculty and students, who always showcase remarkable innovation, but also from staff whose work keeps the University running behind the scenes.”
A faculty panel discussion, moderated by Karen Lokey, associate director of URI’s ITS Innovation Services, will include:
Travess Smalley, assistant professor in the Department of Art and Art History
Ying Zhang, professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Megan Chiovaro, part-time teaching professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering
Peter Cornillon, emeritus professor in the Graduate School of Oceanography
Abdeltawab Hendawi, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics
Sun will moderate the staff panel discussion, which will feature:
Ryan Gardiner, chief business officer for the College of Engineering
Chelsie Sullivan, CYPHER Research Center coordinator
Lisa Chen, teaching and learning support for Information Technology Services
Brian Blanchette, director of Systems and Technology for the URI Foundation
Jim McGwin, adjunct professor in the College of Business, will facilitate a panel discussion of undergraduate and graduate students representing a diverse range of majors and interests.
There is plenty of support and technology available at URI for students to gain hands-on experience with AI. The Library Innovation Labs, led by Keith Ranaldi, director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is considered a collaborative hub, connecting people ideas, and resources across disciplines. Ranaldi and his staff were largely responsible for coordinating the Discovering AI @ URI event.
“We helped coordinate efforts among departments and colleges, ensuring that the hard work being done in AI research and application was visible to the entire campus community,” said Ranaldi.
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The application of AI by faculty, students, and staff at URI will be on full display at the Discovering AI @ URI event.
A cold front is bringing another arctic blast to start the workweek across Southern New England.
The cold frontal passage Sunday night will usher in much colder-than-average temperatures for Monday. Low temperatures on Monday morning will be in the low 20s, with afternoon highs in the upper 20s, but it will feel like the teens all day due to the wind chill on Monday.
The coldest weather arrives for Tuesday morning as lows drop near 10 degrees in many spots with the feels-like wind chill in the single digits.
Bitterly cold wind chills early Tuesday. (WJAR)
It turns a little less cold on Tuesday afternoon with highs back above freezing in the mid-30s.
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Wednesday will be the mildest day of the week with highs in the mid-to-upper 40s. As temperatures climb above freezing, we could see a few light rain showers Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening.
A warm front will boost temperatures into the 40s on Wednesday, which means rain, not snow for Southern New England. (WJAR)
Colder temperatures return again on Thursday and Friday with highs back into the 30s.
A bit of a temperature roller coaster early this week, turning milder on Wednesday before a late week cool down. (WJAR)
We’ll be watching next weekend for the potential of a coastal storm trying to develop, but at this point it looks likely to stay offshore and bring minimal impacts to Southern New England. Check back for updates with Storm Team 10.
