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Autistic Teen Inspires with Biggest Canvas Painting Ever

May 13, 2025

The Juice

Thought Question: What is something you enjoy doing that helps you express yourself?

Kanyeyachukwu “Kanye” Tagbo-Okeke is a 15-year-old in Nigeria. He has a form of autism that prevents him from talking. But that hasn’t stopped the teen from speaking through his art. 

Kanye just broke the Guinness World Record for largest piece of art ever crafted. He painted a canvas artwork that measured over 12,380 square meters. (That's around 133,267 square feet.) He titled his piece “Impossibility is a Myth.” The canvas displays a huge infinity sign. Faces showing many different feelings surround the sign. 

The former world record holder for largest art canvas was Emad Salehi. The artist painted a canvas that is 9,652 square meters, or about 100,000 square feet, People magazine said.

The Nigerian teen’s artistic skill and hard work proves the "boundless potential" of people with autism, the British High Commission in Nigeria wrote on Instagram. Nigeria's president is Bola Tinubu. He posted on X that Kanye is brave, bold and determined for his art and other activism.  

Kanye was diagnosed along the autism spectrum when he was just 2 or 3. His parents sought to help him communicate with the world. As part of this, they encouraged him to paint. He often uses abstract designs in his work. 

Tagbo Okeke is Kanye's father. He told Arise News there's “an innocence that comes with him and what he does” as an artist. 

“The way he uses his art to express himself, and the colors he uses and how he mixes them, and how he puts in so much vigor when he's painting, and how he focuses at that point in time,” he said. “He's busy and he's focused." Okeke added that nothing stops his teen son. 

Photo of “Impossibility is a Myth” from Instagram courtesy of @kanye_tagbo.

Question
The story is mostly about _______. (Common Core RI.5.2; RI.6.2)
a. a teenager who paints pictures of real people and places
c. the steps taken to make the biggest piece of art ever made
d. a president who gives awards to young artists
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