Nigerian artist with autism breaking world records

DW (English)

Kanye is a 15-year-old Nigerian artist on the autism spectrum. Though he finds verbal communication challenging, he discovered his voice through art. He recently made history by setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest canvas painted by an individual.

Transcript

00:00In a world where challenges often feel daunting, one young artist is proving that the word

00:05impossible is just another canvas waiting to be filled with color.

00:09Meet Kania Chukwutagbo, a 15-year-old Nigerian whose journey is as vibrant as his art.

00:16Diagnosed with autism at a young age, Kania found it difficult to communicate with words.

00:21But where language fell short, his creativity soared.

00:24Through painting, he discovered a powerful voice, a journey he started at the age of

00:28three.

00:29You'd come home and you'd find all the walls, you'd take a pencil and a pen, he'd scribble

00:37on the walls, all over the walls, on the floor, on the seats.

00:41And so what we started to do, we'd buy rolls of paper.

00:44We'd buy rolls of paper, give it to him so he could keep him busy.

00:48We want to believe Kania is able to express his feelings, his innate feelings with his

00:54works.

00:57This year, Kania made history by setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest

01:01painting on canvas by an individual.

01:04His masterpiece, titled Impossibility is a Myth, stretches over 12,000 square meters.

01:10At the heart of the painting, a multi-colored ribbon promoting artism awareness.

01:14Kania's first solo exhibition at Terra Culture in Lagos was called Impossibility is a Myth.

01:28From where we are coming from to where he is now, who would have thought that this would

01:36be possible.

01:38And then that name came, Impossibility is a Myth.

01:43Kania's art has been showcased in galleries and museums around the world, from bustling

01:47cities in Nigeria to the grand halls of Europe.

01:51In 2018, he became the first Nigerian to receive the Flame of Peace Award in Vienna, Austria.

01:57Yet the stigma surrounding autism remains a big issue.

02:01Many on the spectrum still struggle to combat social exclusion, prejudice and misconceptions.

02:06Some people don't want to be educated because they have a mindset of, no, your child shouldn't

02:15jump on the chair, your child should be jumping up and down, your child should be shouting

02:19in public.

02:20And that's why we encourage Kania to do this Guinness World Record because to create a movement,

02:31you need to do something extraordinary to draw attention to whatever you are trying to talk

02:36to people about.

02:38Kania Chukwutagbo is painting the impossible and inspiring a generation to dream beyond limits.

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