Our Story
Spreading the love since 2014
The Secret Love Project is an urban artwork. It was created as an official project for World Design Capital 2014 in Cape Town. The theme for WDC2014 was "Live Design, Transform Lives" and artists were invited to submit proposals for works of art that could improve people's lives. Michael Elion conceived an urban artwork that would use the heart shape placed in city space to enrich the city by subliminally influencing people's perceptions of the city and in turn positively influencing their behaviour.
The Beginning
Initially heart stickers were placed on lamp poles throughout the city and sold from various outlets and people were encouraged to participate in this collaborative effort to beautify the city with hearts. Heart stickers were given for free to the homeless and destitute to sell to uplift themselves from extreme poverty and to have meaningful exchanges with members of the community.
The Evolution
The project evolved into a registered charity in 2014 and with its enormous appeal to both the homeless beneficiaries and the community as a whole it evolved into a full-blown charity in 2018 supporting hundreds of destitute, vulnerable and homeless people. Every heart sticker sold represents a positive interaction and the symbol contributes the greater artwork of spreading a message of love in the world.
Meet Michael Elion
Creating good vibes
The Secret Love Project was founded by artist Michael Elion. The project started as a social engineering experiment and developed into a collaborative artwork designed to spread love in the world.
Michael believes the simple, universally recognised heart shape is a symbol with mood-altering power. The simple heart shape signifies positivity and therefore stimulates positive emotions. The little heart stickers all form part of his larger work; good emotions and behaviour initiated by positive collective awareness and helping the homeless lead a self-fulfilling life.
The Secret Love Project is now an established non-profit company that supports over 600 homeless people in Cape Town.
