Welcome! If you are reading this, thanks for being here. The Cheer Up Luv platform wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for the support, solidarity and community that you have been an integral part of.
What is Cheer Up Luv? Cheer Up Luv began in 2017 ago as a photo series retelling women and gender diverse people's experiences of public sexual harassment, founded by Eliza Hatch.
What do we do? Seven years since founding Cheer Up Luv, the series has grown into a globally renowned platform combining art with journalism, activism, social media and a podcast that facilitates discussions about feminism, misogyny, and everyday sexism. The platform aims to raise awareness of the prevalence of misogyny and sexual assault in our daily lives and facilitate helpful conversations while crushing harmful taboos.
While Cheer Up Luv has it's roots in photography, Eliza works with businesses, brands and institutions to facilitate and educate around misogyny. Eliza hosts talks, workshops, curates yearly feminist art exhibitions, hosts skate socials, creates educational content and puts out a free monthly newsletter.
Earlier this year, Eliza visited Transkaters monthly skate night at BaySixty6 to film and photograph some of the attendees for Dazed. In the last two years there has been a 37.5% increase in reported anti-LGBT+ hate crimes according to the charity Galop, a figure which creates a barrier and has as a direct impact on how trans and queer people access and participate in sports.
You can read the full interview in Dazed here.
Photography by Eliza Hatch
In April this year, Eliza spoke on a panel for the V&A Late: Feminist Futures.
Find out more about the event below.
For three years running, Cheer Up Luv & Bee Illustrates have curated a yearly exhibition and events showcase raising money for charity during Women's History Month called Hysterical. This year the show was visited by more than 500 people, featured 13 artists and was covered by BBC Radio London, Freeda, Woo News, Getty Images, Huck, CASS Art, Evening Standard and South East Londoner,
Vacant // Engaged, Bee Illustrates & Cheer Up Luv, 2024
This year, as well as curating the work of 13 artists and putting on three charity events, Eliza Hatch and Bee Illustrates debuted and created full scale bathroom installation at Hysterical: Radical Creativity. After collaborating as curators in previous years, Eliza and Bee combined forces to create a full scale bathroom in the exhibition itself, an interactive space and artwork for the public to engage with for two weeks in March 2024.
Find out more about the exhibition and installation here.
Superdrug x Our Streets Now
For International Women's Day, Eliza joined Our Streets Now on a panel for Superdrug about women's safety and how we can all play our part in ending public sexual harassment.
To celebrate the hard work of youth activists who tirelessly campaigned to pass the Protection from Sex Based Harassment in Public Bill law, I teamed up with Plan UK to photograph five of their campaigners.
The #CrimeNotCompliment campaign was launched in partnership with grassroots, youth-led organisation Our Streets Now. Young people have been at the heart of the social and online campaign - and this photo series highlights their experiences campaigning and hopes for the future around the public safety of women and girls in the UK. You can find out more about the campaign below.
THE STORY: Eliza Hatch founded Cheer Up Luv in 2017 when a man walked past and told her to "cheer up". After her male friends dismissed the experience as a “compliment", Eliza felt inspired to prove them wrong. Eliza began taking portraits of her friends in public places and posting the photos online and on the Instagram page @cheerupluv. Seven years later, Cheer Up Luv evolved from an internationally recognised photo series into a multi-faceted platform retelling accounts of public sexual harassment and educating around misogyny.
Francesca's story - London, 2017
“I was 18, walking alone in Paris. I saw a guy walking towards me. He started talking to me, but I walked away. About 15 mins later, I looked back and realised he was following me for 1 mile. I felt so scared and decided to go somewhere crowded. Then I felt someone pull my hand and drag me into a narrow street. A man was watching us, but he walked away. I was already crying. Finally I saw the face and it was the guy who talked to me. He whispered something in French and giggled. I can't remember exactly how I ran away. But I clearly remember how I felt. That was my first time I touched a man’s penis. And also that was my first kiss.”
“I was doing some work experience and it was only a two week placement. My supervisor began the first week by showing me his wedding photos, by the second week he was trying to touch me, cuddle or tickle me. On my last day, he got put in charge and made sure every task I had was alone with him. He tickled me again so I told him to stop. He then grabbed both my arms pressed himself against me with my legs apart and pinned my legs down. He stayed there with his face close to mine and only got off me when someone else came into the room. I wanted to run and cry, but I just walked out in shock.”
"I was walking down a street in Manhattan when I saw a man walking towards me. His daughter was holding his hand and his young son was behind him on a scooter. As the distance between us got shorter I could tell that he was intensely staring at me, studying my legs, my sundress, my cleavage. Just as our paths crossed he lunged toward me and whispered, ‘Mmmm, I’d like to taste your chocolate.’ I was most horrified that his daughter was right there, watching her father verbally assault me, while his son was behind learning from his actions."
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