Cheer Up Luv: the platform where art meets activism

An interview with Eliza Hatch, the founder of the award-winning photo campaign and platform

Sareeka whose full story of assault on the Tube is on the Cheer Up Luv website. Photo: Eliza Hatch/Cheer Up Luv

Eliza Hatch is the founder of the powerful and much needed Instagram account Cheer Up Luv and a co-founder of Hysterical Collective. We talked to Eliza about the need for platforms that tackle the misogyny, assaults against women and everyday sexism that sadly still exist today, and the work she’s doing to address it.

What is Cheer Up Luv, and how did it start? Did you expect it to gain such a large following? 

Cheer Up Luv is an award-winning platform dedicated to retelling harassment/assault survivors' stories, empowering their voices and opening up meaningful discussions around misogyny, everyday sexism and gender inequality. Alongside platforming stories, Cheer Up Luv is also a space to share global feminist news and celebrate the people and organisations making positive breakthroughs for the protection and rights of women.

I launched Cheer Up Luv in 2017 after an experience of harassment led me to swap stories with my friends. When male friends dismissed the harassment as "flattery", I was inspired to prove them wrong, and reclaim the power I lost in that moment.

I began taking portraits of my friends in public places and sharing them online, with each subject recounting their story. The series ignited a movement of more women wanting to change the narrative about their experiences. I have now photographed 230 people and the series has been exhibited globally.