57 young artists from Nigeria and the United States created original artwork honoring Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke and autistic abilities. Today, we celebrate the artists, autism awareness and inclusion.

We are inspired by the results. Submissions arrived from Abuja, Bauchi, Enugu, Owerri, Jigawa, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Kogi, Sokoto, Anambra, Osun, and Houston, Texas. Children as young as five and adults up to twenty-nine. Pencil sketches, watercolors, charcoal portraits with touches of pastel, and mixed media among the materials used. A 5-year-old's superhero on a rainbow road. A young woman's framed dual portrait. Detailed compositions tracing Kanye's ride for Autism on a hand-drawn map of Nigeria. Today, we are honored to announce the winners.

Every artwork was scored by a panel of 3 judges using a 100-point rubric across four equally weighted criteria: theme relevance, creativity and originality, technical skill, and emotional impact. Judges gave special credit to artworks that captured Kanye's distinctive features and that reflected the deeper mission of autism awareness and inclusion, not technical skill alone.

The judges' scores accounted for fifty percent of each artist's final placement. The other fifty percent came from the public: 1,369 people voted through the online voting form, choosing their favorite artwork in each age category. The final winners reflect both votes combined.

Category A: Ages 5 to 12

First Place: Yasir Hassan, age 5, Abuja, Nigeria

In a category open to children up to twelve years old, the youngest entrant won the highest honor. Yasir's "Superhero Kanye" rides a bicycle on a rainbow road while his friends cheer him on and a smiling sun looks down. His own words say it all: "Autism is Ability." Yasir won by both the judges and a remarkable 32.9% of all Category A community votes.

Second Place: Samuel Agbo, age 8, Enugu, Nigeria

Samuel's artwork shows a boy "breaking boundaries", a powerful reflection of the determination at the heart of this year's theme. Samuel placed second by both the judges and the public, receiving 31.5% of community votes.

Third Place: David Ogbe, age 9, Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria

David, in his own words, said his artwork was "telling all autistic children that they are loved." That message is exactly what Spark a Spectrum exists to carry forward.

Category B: Ages 13 to 18

Ita Karen Kingsley's artwork: a Black cyclist in a white jersey, red shorts, and red helmet, riding a blue and white bicycle on a yellow background. Caption reads: Different is Not Less.
Ita Karen Kingsley, age 14, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. First Place, Category B. "Different is Not Less."

First Place: Ita Karen Kingsley, age 14, Oron, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria

Karen's piece carried a single, powerful caption: "Different is not less." Her artwork stood out to judges for the way it honored Kanye's identity as a Black autistic athlete and tied the visual directly to the mission of inclusion.

Second Place: Habiba

Habiba's pencil work showed strong emotional impact and confident technique, earning her a clear second-place placement from the judges.

Third Place: Geber, age 17, Clear Lake High School, Houston, Texas, USA

Geber's entry traveled across an ocean. His participation reflects something important: that autism awareness is a global conversation, and that students in Houston and students in Jigawa share the same message of acceptance.

Category C: Ages 19 to 30

Okeke Kosisochukwu Victory's framed artwork: a young Black cyclist in a green shirt and pale trousers, riding a bicycle, with a second close-up portrait of his determined face superimposed in the background. Caption: Impossible is...
Okeke Kosisochukwu Victory, age 27, Anambra, Nigeria. First Place, Category C.

First Place: Okeke Kosisochukwu Victory, age 27, Anambra, Nigeria

Okeke's work was the strongest single entry of the entire competition. He placed first by both the judges and the public, receiving 40% of all Category C community votes, the highest single share of any entry in any category. In his own description, Okeke wrote that his art was built on "intentionality, resilience, and determination to succeed." It shows.

Second Place: Abdulsalam, Sokoto, Nigeria

Abdulsalam's piece honored Kanye's journey with thoughtful composition and detail. Like Okeke, he placed second by both juries, judges and public, with 35.1% of community votes.

Third Place (tied): Adeoye Oluwajuwonlo Janet, age 28, Osun, Nigeria, AND Blessed Christopher Ating, age 23, Oron, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria

The judges declared a tie at third place in Category C between Janet's "The Spectrum Lens", capturing Kanye's determined gaze, and Blessed Christopher's pencil tribute. Both artists will receive third place recognition and prize.

Special Recognition: Outstanding Community Support

Five additional artists received exceptional support from the public during voting. While the combined methodology placed the formal winners as listed above, these five artists were chosen by hundreds of community voters and deserve special recognition.

To Shaun especially: 368 individual voters chose your work. That is recognition that no scoring rubric can replicate. Congratulations.

Each of these artists will receive a Special Recognition Certificate and a community gift of ₦25,000.

To every artist who submitted

57 young people created original artwork for this competition and contributed to a global conversation about autism awareness, acceptance, and inclusion. Their work is seen and celebrated by 1,369 community voters who chose their favorite. Whether you placed in the rankings or not, your participation is what made this competition real. You are the reason Spark a Spectrum exists.

This year's theme honored Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke, a sixteen year old autistic Nigerian holding two Guinness World Records. A story that does not get told often enough that autism can be ability, that difference is not less, that a young autistic athlete can do something extraordinary that the world will remember.

Prizes

First place winners in each category will receive a laptop, to be delivered in person during our team's visit to Nigeria in June 2026. Second place winners will receive ₦100,000. Third place winners will receive ₦35,000. Special Recognition winners will receive ₦25,000.

All cash prizes will be transferred this week. Winners' families have been contacted directly.

57 entries  ·  3 categories  ·  1,369 community voters  ·  14 honored artists

Help us honor these artists

Spark a Spectrum is sustained entirely by community support, and the prizes for these young artists were provided through ABA World.

Every donation is direct, transparent, and goes straight to the children and families we serve.

Browse all 57 entries

Every entry deserves to be seen. View the complete galleries for each category:

Together we do more.

— Loukia Tsami, Founder, ABA World

#SparkASpectrum2026  ·  #AutismAwareness  ·  #TogetherWeDoMore