Eliza Hatch
Eliza Hatch (born July 17, 1994) is a British photojournalist. Her main project, “Cheer up Luv,” that started in 2017, has become her most influential campaign and the reason she is as well known as she is today. She is also a social activist on gender equality, a speaker, and a social media personality[1] with high follower counts on her TikTok and Instagram pages.
Biography
Eliza Hatch was born on July 17, 1994, and is currently 29 years old. She was born and raised in London and is still based there today. Along with her career in photography, one of her main hobbies is skateboarding. She started to skate while still attending university with other female friends during the night, when the parks and ramps were empty. Now she is trying to create a judgment-free skating zone for folks wanting to learn how [2].
She attended Emanuel School, a private school located in the south-west of London, from 2005 to 2012 [3]. There, she was always creative, but in more traditional mediums such as painting, drawing, and sculpting [3]. She was also part of the choir there [3]. At this time, Hatch saw photography as more of a hobby than her calling [3]. She then attended the University of Brighton, located on the southern coast of the UK, through the Faculty of Arts [1]. She studied in the Department of Film and Theater, and she graduated in 2016 with a BA in Illustrations [3][1]. Since graduating, she has guest lectured and spoken at her alma mater as well as at other universities such as Falmouth University and King's College London [1].
Career
During university, she trained and worked in the film and TV industry as a set designer in the art department [3]. After graduating, she became more focused on pursuing her photography career professionally [3]. In 2017, she released her photo series, Cheer Up Luv, combating the sexual harassment women face in their everyday lives[1]. Since then, it has grown into a major platform to talk about sexual harassment and has ventured out into a podcast, exhibitions, and more. Hatch has also co-curated an exhibition focusing on female and LGBTQIA+ artists with fellow co-creator Bee Illustrates called Hysterical. Hysterical started in 2022 and has run every year since[4]. Hatch has also had the opportunity to speak at TEDx, as well as interviews for magazine articles and news stations.
Notable Work
Cheer Up Luv
Cheer Up Luv is a photography and journalistic campaign aimed at retelling the stories of sexual harassment survivors, which launched in 2017[5].
One day when Hatch was walking down the street, minding her own business, an older man came up to her and told her to “cheer up.” Annoyed, she brought up this encounter with a group of her friends. When all of their female friends agreed at how obscure the amount of sexual harassment they face in their everyday lives, her male friends failed to believe them [5][6]. She recalled all the harassment she faced when she was still young and in school while wearing her uniform. With all this added up, she had had enough of it and wanted to take back control over women's narratives, which led to the start of Cheer Up Luv [5][6]. Whether it be on the street, at a grocery store, or on the tube, Hatch wanted to tell these stories of sexual harassment around the world.
It was officially launched in January of 2017 [7]. As it quickly gained popularity and attention from the public, Hatch started to get more and more coverage via magazines and interviews. She was first on BBC News in August of 2017 to talk about the campaign and to share her story [8]. This photo series has had exhibitions all around the world including London, New York, Sri Lanka, Berlin, Bristol, and Poland [6].
In 2021, Cheer Up Luv: The Podcast was created and streamed on Apple Podcasts. Here, Hatch hosted and featured many various artists and activists as guest hosts. They discuss each other's artwork as well as the sexual harassment stories that have been submitted through the campaign [9]. Their goal is to break down the myths around certain harassment topics and to stop these normalizations that appear in our society [9][10].
UNFPA x CHEER UP LUV
In September 2018, Cheer Up Luv teamed up with the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA, to create a campaign called “Don't Look Away: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.” With 16 days and 16 stories, women shared their experience of sexual harassment on public transportation in Sri Lanka [11][12].
In Sri Lanka, most women and girls have experienced some form of sexual harassment while on public transportation [12]. With 90% experiencing harassment and 74% of that being physical [12]. Under the circumstances of it occurring on either buses or trains, there are often witnesses to these encounters. However, they decide to stay silent, believing that the women are "asking for it". Usually witnesses do not speak out about these situations, and neither do the victims [12].
There was an online version of this campaign through a website as well as an offline version through public posters and advertisements [11]. Hatch was in charge of taking portraits of these women, while a video interview was directed by Zoo and had Mark Wittanen as the cinematographer [12]. This campaign won a Webby award for Best Individual Editorial Feature in 2019 [6][11].
Hysterical
Hatch co-curated Hysterical with artist Bee Illustrates[13]. Hysterical is an annual exhibition they created in hopes of creating a safe space for women and other marginalized genders. Historically, women were called “hysterical.” With hopes of reclaiming the term and fighting against active oppression, they named the exhibition after it[4]. It takes place every March during Women's History Month, and it first started out in 2022[4]. Featured artists and activists' works are often focused on uplifting others, creating communities, and using their voices as a form of protest and change. As well as the art works, they host panels with discussions and workshops for the public to participate in [4][14][15]. All profits in the end go towards charities such as UN Women UK, Mermaids, Glitch, and The Outside Project[4][14][15].
| Year | Duration | Exhibition Name | Gallery |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | March 24 - April 3 | Hysterical [4] | no format Gallery |
| 2023 | March 15 - March 25 | Hysterical: A Celebration of Subversive Art [15] | Bermondsey Project Space Gallery |
| 2024 | March 20 -March 31 | Hysterical: Radical Creativity [14] | Bermondsey Project Space Gallery |
Awards and Nominations
| Award | Year | Category | For | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webby | 2019 | Best Individual Editorial Feature | Don't Look Away | Won [1][6] |
| il Reportage | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nominated [6] |
| Hundred Heroines | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nominated [6] |
Partnerships
Adobe [6]
United Nations Population Fund [1][6]
Our Streets Now [6]
Hysterical Collective [6]
Refinery 29 UK [6]
Plan UK [6]
Chalkback [6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Sandberg, Tom. n.d. “Eliza Hatch.” Falmouth University. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/staff/eliza-hatch.
- ↑ @elizahatch. "💚 Yesterday was everything 💚..." Instagram, October 1, 2023. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx2-JFdNrNA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 “Eliza Hatch - Emanuel.” n.d. Emanuel School. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://www.emanuel.org.uk/casestudy/eliza-hatch/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 “Hysterical 2022.” 2022. Cheer Up Luv. https://www.cheerupluv.com/HYSTERICAL2022.html.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hatch, Eliza. n.d. “ABOUT.” Cheer Up Luv. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://www.cheerupluv.com/ABOUT.html.
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 “PRESS.” n.d. Cheer Up Luv. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://cheerupluv.com/PRESS.html.
- ↑ “Cheer Up Luv: The progressive photojournalist documenting the daily plights of women worldwide.” n.d. Wonderland. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2019/03/22/cheer-up-luv-eliza-hatch/.
- ↑ “BBC London News 31.08.2017 - Cheer Up Luv.” 2020. YouTube. https://youtu.be/0TV3RgkhzDE?si=CYshkDuNYmXcnXN3.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 “The Cheer Up Luv Podcast Eliza Hatch.” n.d. Apple Podcasts. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cheer-up-luv-podcast/id1530243890.
- ↑ “PODCAST.” n.d. Cheer Up Luv. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://www.cheerupluv.com/PODCAST.html.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 “UNFPA x CHEER UP LUV.” n.d. Eliza Hatch. Accessed April 11, 2024. http://elizahatch.com/unfpa.html.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 “Don't Look Away: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.” n.d. United Nations Population Fund. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://www.unfpa.org/16-stories.
- ↑ Hatch, Eliza, and Bee Illustrates. 2024. “Hysterical 2024.” Bermondsey Project Space. https://project-space.london/hysterical.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 “Hysterical 2024.” 2024. Cheer Up Luv. https://www.cheerupluv.com/HYSTERICAL2024.html.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 “Hysterical 2023.” 2023. Cheer Up Luv. https://www.cheerupluv.com/HYSTERICAL2023.html.