HEALING HOUSE, EARTH ART CHICAGO, 2023
Part of the “Greening the Southeast Side” Project in collaboration with Southeast Environmental Taskforce, the Healing Room provides a space for the community to take a moment to themselves, to plant new seeds, nurture, meditate, and grow. Installed at Urban Growers Collective on 91st and Mackinaw, Healing House is a public art piece for the community to adjust and evolve as they see fit.
Grant Park Skate Park, Chicago, 2022
Inspired by the culture and history of Chicago, the BMX and Skate Community, “A space for everyone” was created to welcome people to the skate park, which highlighting the freedom of expression and self determination that is embraced by the skate community. This mural was made through a collaboration with the Chicago Park District to provide inner city youth with an internship experience in developing public art. A tram of high school students, members of GO-Grind, Chicago Action Sports, The Grant Park Advisory Committee, and the Chicago Park District worked together with Artist, Sam Kirk to determine the content of the artwork.
Stronger Together, Little Village, Chicago, 2021
Part of the One Lawndale Initiative, the Stronger Together mural celebrates the people of North and South Lawndale and encourages black and brown unity. The concept was developed based on opinions and feedback from youth in both communities.
La Villita Skatepark, 2021
Mission Over Everything, 2019
Sam Kirk worked with Lincoln Park Community Services location, a 30 year old, non-profit helping homeless residents in Chicago to develop a mural that celebrates the work they do and the people they work with. Kirk worked with the organization and its members to determine the content of the mural, using their stories to develop the concept.
Xfinity/Comcast sponsored the mural.
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University of Wisconsin Mural, 2021
Sam Kirk spoke with students at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater to create a design that reflects the diversity and multiculturality of the student body.
The Love I Vibrate, 2018
A collaboration between Sam Kirk, Andy Bellomo and Sandra Antongiorgi to celebrate the LGBTQ+ Community in Chicago as part of the city’s Year of Public Art.
Lakeview Pride, 2020
Mural celebrating Chicago’s Lakeview Neighborhood for the new Walgreens Office at the Historic USPS Building.
Chicago Rhythm & Blues, 2019
A celebration of Chicago music over the decades.
Private Client
A Tribute to Victoria Cruz, 2019
A commission by the Lisa Project x NYC Heritage Pride, Sam Kirk was selected as one of 50 national and international artists to paint a mural in New York City to celebrate World Pride 2019 and 50 years since Stonewall. Her mural in The Lower East Side (below) pays tribute to Victoria Cruz, a Puerto Rican Transgender Woman, Activist, and Community Organizer who has continued to help the LGBTQ+ community in New York since the Stonewall Riots.
This is What Chicago Sounds Like, 2019
A mural celebrating the way Chicago delivers and receives it news via the team at Vocalo and WBEZ. The piece highlights Chicago culture, focusing on the arts.
Bold, Brilliant, Beautiful Brooklyn, 2018
Sam Kirk & Jenny Q., 2017 Brooklyn Community Pride Center opened a new location in Bedstuy in 2018. Sam Kirk and Jenny Q created this piece to celebrate and acknowledge Brooklyn’s LGBTQ+ Community.” “When we were younger, we searched for spaces where we could be ourselves. In our communities, they didn’t exist. We didn’t grow up seeing black and brown LGBTQ+ people. While this is changing, the need for more visual representation is still present. Floyd gave us the opportunity to create this at the Brooklyn Community Pride Center space.“
Tribute to Nat King Cole, 2019
“The Forum was built in 1897, and contains one of the most important assembly/performance halls in the city and possibly the oldest hardwood ballroom dance floor in Chicago. This space played a significant role in Chicago’s cultural scene by hosting performances of music luminaries—including Nat King Cole—and by providing space for civic groups and political meetings.”
Power to the People, 2018
A commission by Chicago’s Loop Alliance, under the theme of electricity. Rather than being literal, Kirk chose to highlight women in trades, using the downtown location to create more visibility for women, specifically women of color working in male dominated industries.
Weaving Cultures, 2016
A commission by the City of Chicago, Sam Kirk lead the direction for the concept of this piece to develop a mural that celebrated women of many cultures and identities. As a bi-racial, queer woman this was important to her to reflect the diversity within Chicago , despite the segregation the city is known for. Kirk collaborated with Artist, Sandra Antongiorgi to develop the piece, merging their styles to reflect the vibrancy of the communities represented. The organic process of creating this piece allowed them to reflect on current events and adjust the content based the state of the world in 2016.
