Meet the Artist: Sam Kirk, A Storyteller of Color, Community & Unstoppable Energy

For our inaugural MEET THE ARTIST feature, we’re thrilled to spotlight the brilliant Chicago artist behind the murals that now pulse with life inside the U3 Coffee Lab & up the staircase to our rooftop café: Sam Kirk. Her work doesn’t just brighten our space. It tells our story with heart, movement & soul. The result is vibrant, deeply personal & unforgettable.

Sam grew up in a working-class family on the South Side of Chicago. She was the first in her family to graduate college, with her twin sister right behind her. Art started as a hobby, something she loved but never imagined would become a career. Yet it always held deep personal meaning. As a teenager, art became her way of expressing truths she didn’t yet have the words for. It was a transformative tool, helping her communicate her identity & experiences in ways language couldn’t.

In 2010, everything shifted. Sam hosted an exhibit that didn’t just go well, it caught the attention of the City of Chicago. Doors began to open. Instead of hesitating, Sam took a leap. She decided to follow the momentum, to see where this unexpected path could lead. And she fell in love with the journey.

At first, Sam imagined a future in galleries & museums. She enjoyed the work, but she noticed something important: the audiences in those spaces didn’t reflect the people she grew up with. Her voice — vibrant, intersectional & rooted in community — needed to live in spaces where everyone could engage with it.

That realization led her to public art, a medium that allowed her to tell stories on a much larger scale. Today, roughly 95% of her murals are commissioned projects created with intention, collaboration & a deep respect for the communities they represent.

Sam’s approach to murals is thoughtful & human-centered. She never starts with a blank wall. She starts with people.

She begins each project by sitting down with the client, listening to why the mural matters & what story they hope to share. She pulls inspiration from her own life first, then dives into research to honor stories beyond her own. Concept development can take one to two months of sketches, conversations, discovery & refinement. When the concepts take shape, she works closely with clients to evolve the vision into something meaningful & alive.

For complex spaces, like staircases, Sam’s team creates pounce patterns to map outlines onto the walls, ensuring the final mural flows seamlessly across angles & elevations.

And above all, Sam centers energy. Growing up in the inner city, she fell in love with movement, hustle & the rhythm of life. That energy beats through everything she creates. Whether the piece is full color or black & white, her murals are connected, fluid & unmistakably hers.

Sam’s impact on public art reached a powerful milestone with her work at the Obama Presidential Center. Alongside fellow Chicago artist Dorian Sylvain, Sam co-created the vibrant mural inside the Center’s basketball court — a modern “home court” designed for community, mentorship & movement.

The mural pulses with color, rhythm & symbolism, reflecting the spirit of connection and possibility that defines both the South Side and President Obama’s legacy. It stands as a testament to Sam’s ability to translate culture into visual language at the highest level — art that lives not behind glass, but where people gather, move & belong.

This ethos — honoring history, elevating community voices & infusing spaces with unstoppable energy — is the same one Sam brings to every wall she touches.

When Sam stepped into U3’s world, she didn’t just paint walls, she captured a story. Our story. The one that shaped our founders, our space & our community.

The murals in our coffee lab & along the staircase are filled with movement, connection & a vibrant sense of identity, echoing the very values that built U3 Coffee. Her work transforms the space, guiding guests from craft to community, from the ground floor to the sky.

We’re honored to feature Sam Kirk as the very first artist in our MEET THE ARTIST series. Her passion, process & intersectional perspective brought something truly transformative to U3.

To see more of her work or connect with her, visit iamsamkirk.com or email her at sam@iamsamkirk.com