Kareem Waris Olamilekan, also known as Waspa (born 2006 or 2007) is a Nigerian hyperrealism artist and art prodigy.[1][2][3]

Biography

edit

Olamilekan was born in either 2006 or 2007. He lives in Lagos and attends the Ayowole Academy of Art.[4] He began drawing at the age of 6. On 3 July 2018, in two hours, he drew a hyper-realistic portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron, during the president's visit to the Fela Kuti's New Africa Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria. President Macron was so impressed and touched by Olamilekan's work that he tweeted a short video featuring the young boy drawing. As a result, Olamilekan's work has received international recognition since then.[1][3][5]

Awards

edit
  • 2019 - won Taiwan's 22nd Fervent Global Love of Lives Award.[6][7][8]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Akande, Segun. "The 11-year-old Nigerian artist who moved President Macron". CNN. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Meet the 11-year-old creating hyper-real art". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b Pate, Kelli. "Meet Kareem Waris Olamilekan, the 11-year-old artist whose drawings are getting worldwide recognition". Insider. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  4. ^ "11-Year-Old Hyperrealist from Nigeria Wows With Stunning Artworks". TwistedSifter. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Young hyperrealist Kareem Waris Olamilekan, owns an apartment 2 months after sketching portrait of Emmanuel Macron". Pulse Nigeria. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  6. ^ Dayo, Amenna. "11-Year-Old Nigerian Artist Wins Top Taiwan's Award | The African Exponent". The African Exponent. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  7. ^ Kiunguyu, Kylie (3 October 2019). "Young Nigerian hyper-realistic artist, Kareem Waris Olamilekan wins International Art award". This is africa. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  8. ^ Omotayo, Joseph (20 September 2019). "11-year-old Kareem Waris defeats 2,723, clinches global prize for his artworks". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
edit