The Big House’s unique artistic retelling, The Big Up has won a Silver Lovie award and a People’s Choice Lovie award for Best Film & Video (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) at the 14th Annual Lovie Awards. This recognition places The Big House, an award-winning charity working with care-experienced and at-risk young people, alongside renowned organisations such as CNN, Al Jazeera and BBC Studios.

Chosen by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS), the Lovie Awards honour Europe’s most exceptional work across the digital landscape. Esteemed IADAS members include leaders from brands such as Apple, Chloé, and Highsnobiety, making this nomination a significant recognition of digital creativity and impact.

Why The Big Up is important

The Big Up is a groundbreaking virtual exhibit that tell the stories of inspirational global majority figures in the UK, who have been written out of mainstream history. It was designed to use artistic intervention to bridge the gap in historical resources available to both teachers and young people, empowering them to connect with their heritage in a dynamic and amusing way. Particularly, this series was aimed at marginalised young people who are excluded from mainstream education who can access it on their screens and through our workshops at Pupil Referral Units.

Directed by The Big House founder and multiple OFFIE winner, Maggie Norris, The Big Up was scripted by BAFTA-winning writer David Watson, with visuals by Titash Sen, and was scored by renowned Grime MC Jammz. The project features the voices of The Big House members who performed the roles of the historical characters they researched to bring these stories to life. At the heart of the series are the young people of The Big House who were trained in historical research. They worked with Research Lead, Dee Miller, to recover these forgotten figures from archives across London, which ultimately enabled us to tell these stories.

Watch The Big Up here.