Hearts can be spotted popping up all over Cape Town, but what is the story behind it? The ‘Secret Love Project’ is working to support the homeless community.
Cape Town, South Africa – In July of this year we shared the story about the ‘Secret Love Project’. Since then, the project has been working to raise money to purchase rainsuits for the homeless in Cape Town.
The project began as a collaborative artwork designed to spread love in the world using the heart shape. Created by South African artist Michael Elion for the World Design Capital 2014 in Cape Town, The Secret Love Project is a social engineering experiment that explores how signs and symbols – that form part of the visual register in city space – operate on the collective consciousness and influence our behaviour.
In the five years that the concept has been alive, the Secret Love Project has become a registered charity and non-profit company that offers the homeless a lifeline out of poverty and a fresh path to re-integration into society. Every month the initiative give out 10,000 FREE heart sticker packs to over 100 registered sellers, who sell them to motorists at R20 each and keep 100% of the sale.
They set up a crowdfund to help buy rainsuits for winter and as the rains are still lashing the Western Cape, we thought we would share their story once more to serve as a reminder to help the homeless whenever possible.
The organisation only managed to raise 10% of their goal but the fund is picking up again with more people donating in the last two days.
“This campaign is to raise funds for durable full body rainsuits for our sellers and other homeless in Cape Town. We are aiming to produce 200 rainsuits for the homeless and they cost us around R250 each to produce. In the cold & rainy weather, these rainsuits really help the homeless to be protected and to keep illness at bay. For our sticker sellers, it keeps them dry while they’re spreading love, and making their own money to pay for food and shelter for their families.”
You can help them spread the love and support the homeless by donating here.
Other artists have joined the love revolution and are putting up even more hearts around the city. For more information click here, or check out some of the awesome photos below:
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