One-year-old from Ghana becomes world's youngest male artist
At the age of 1 year 152 days, Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah, who is from Ghana, has now been officially recognised as the world’s youngest male artist by Guinness World Records (GWR)
Yesterday, Guinness World Records (GWR), the global authority on all things record-breaking, announced that Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah - at the age of 1 year 152 days - is the world’s youngest male artist.
According to the announcement, Ace-Liam, who is from Ghana, has now been officially recognised as the world’s youngest male artist, a record which was previously held by Dante Lamb, an American, who earned the title at age three in 2003.
The attempt to break the Guinness World Record by Ace-Liam took place in Accra, Ghana, at the Soundout Premium Exhibition in the Museum of Science and Technology on 15 December 2023, concluding on 21 January 2024.
Born on July 16th, 2022 to Chantelle Kuukua Eghan, a Ghanaian artist, Ace-Liam started painting when he was just 6 months old. “While learning to crawl, I spread out a piece of unstretched canvas on the floor and dropped some paint on it as a way to keep him busy while I worked on a commission painting,” Chantelle told GWR.
“He […] ended up spreading the paint all over the canvas, and in the process he created his first masterpiece titled The crawl.”
After discovering his love for painting, she began to nurture his interest and talent. And ever since he started talking, Chantelle said, he would ask to paint, as it has become his favourite activity. “It's a fun and creative outlet for him, and he enjoys the freedom to explore and create without limitations,” she said. Ace-Liam loves the feel of the paint on his hands, the bright colours and the ability to express himself through painting.
With over 20 paintings created by him, Ace-Liam participated in his first group exhibition, The Soundout Premium Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Technology in Ghana.
“To qualify him as the youngest artist, he needs to be in an exhibition, make sales, and the sales receipt will be sent to them and provide evidence of the event after it has been done, including media coverage and social media handles. If he doesn’t sell the artwork, he won’t qualify,” Chantelle said.
A total of 10 of his artworks were displayed and put up for sale. Out of those 10, nine were sold during the exhibition, GWR noted.
Speaking on the meaning behind his paintings, Chantelle shared that Ace-Liam’s art is more about expression and exploration rather than conveying specific messages.
“His abstract paintings are inspired by the world around him; colours, shapes, textures and his mood,” she shared. “Every painting is an expression of his curiosity and joy in discovering new things.”
His painting sessions are spontaneous and guided by his mood, she noted. Once his painting area has been set up with canvases and paints, he walks into his studio and chooses the canvas size and colours he prefers.
“Then he calls me to open the paint bottles for him, and then he starts applying the paint on the canvas carefully yet spontaneously,” she revealed. “A painting session can last anywhere from a few minutes to about half an hour, depending on his interest at the moment.”
She added, “Sometimes he leaves a painting and comes back to it after a couple of days to finish it. Once he’s done, he says ‘mama finish’.”
Before GWR’s approval, Ace-Liam got the attention of the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana. Earlier in the year, he presented his first commissioned painting titled “Nirvana” & “Swirling Dreams” to the First Lady of Ghana, H.E Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
“Tiny hands, big dreams! and a big GOD. Our 1-year-old art prodigy Ace-Liam just presented his first commissioned masterpieces to the incredible First Lady of Ghana, H.E Rebecca Akufo-Addo. We are grateful for her unwavering support, nurturing creativity at such a young age,” the social media post reads.
With this record, Ace-Liam joins the list of Africans holding a world record. In January, GWR confirmed that Chancellor Ahaghotu, a Nigerian art student has broken the decade-old record for the longest painting marathon, after painting for 100 hours.
