Nigerian autistic teen sets world painting record

A 15-year-old autistic Nigerian has set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest art canvas to raise awareness for autism.

Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke's painting, which features a multi-coloured ribbon - the autism symbol - surrounded by emojis, spans 12,304 square meters.

It is aimed at highlighting the spectrum disorder and the challenges that people like him face amid stigma - like the highly controversial comments made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The US Secretary of Health and Human Services recently declared autism an “epidemic”, while stating that many autistic people will “never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date.”

We’d like to see him achieve something halfway as impressive as Tagbo-Okeke's painting.

The artwork, created in November 2024, was unveiled and officially recognized by the Guinness World Record organizers in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja during World Autism Acceptance Day in April.

Nigeria’s art and culture minister Hannatu Musawa said Tagbo-Okeke's artwork is “a beacon of hope and inspiration” for people with autism.

“We recognize the unique abilities and potential of individuals with autism and are dedicated to providing opportunities for them to thrive in the creative industries,” Musawa added.

The young artist's record-breaking attempt, accompanied by a campaign tagged “Impossibility is a Myth," was widely celebrated among Nigerians, partly because of his young age.

Indeed, his artwork eclipsed that of Emad Salehi, the previous world record holder, who was nearly three times older at 42 when he set the record with a 9,652-square meter canvas.

“We felt an overwhelming sense of relief and pride, knowing the countless hours and months of effort he poured into breaking the record,” his mother Silvia said.

Kanyeyachukwu’s world record attempt also sought to raise funds for the Zeebah Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on providing support to those on the spectrum and their families.

There are limited resources in Nigeria for initiatives like this one, and while there are no official records from within Nigeria, about 1 in 100 children worldwide has autism, according to the World Health Organization.

Like in many other countries, autism is often not diagnosed in Nigeria until in older years.