Dunedin’s Leland Chase Outdoor Gallery honors two educators who made significant contributions to Black education in the city. It now features eight artists’ work on weatherproofed panels lining a wastewater plant wall on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

Eight artists now have their work on display at the Leland Chase Outdoor Gallery, where 4-by-6-foot panels line the screening wall of Dunedin’s wastewater treatment plant at 1140 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

City commissioners recognized the artists behind the gallery’s newest installations at their Aug. 6 meeting, marking the project’s third phase. Nicole Delfino, the city’s strategy and sustainability manager, told commissioners the work has been underway for several years.

The gallery is named for Lorraine Leland and Almira Chase. Chase founded the Washington School and Social Center in 1915 as a school for Black students under Florida’s segregation laws. It was later renamed Chase Memorial Elementary and closed in 1963 after desegregation. Leland then coordinated the Dunedin Educational and Enrichment Program to support students transitioning into the city’s previously all-white schools.

The site carries that history. The plant sits in a neighborhood settled in the 1880s by Black workers who came for jobs on the Orange Belt Railway.

“Almira Chase and Lorraine Leland exemplified the strength of community collaboration,” said Elizabeth Brincklow, the city’s art consultant, according to the Tampa Bay Beacons.

The panels are not traditional murals. They are original two-dimensional works, including photography, digital art, paintings and drawings, fabricated, weatherproofed and mounted individually. The city licensed the images from the artists. Because the material is lightweight and removable, displays can be rotated and new work selected periodically.

The gallery’s inaugural theme is “Celebrating Diversity.” Artists featured in the second and third rounds include Addie Rodriguez (“Melody of Unexpected Bonds”), Sheree Woulfe (“Raising the World of Tomorrow”), Erica Eve Salaman (“Qween” and “SmartOwl”), Finn Rodriguez (“All Hearts Around the World”), Patricia Kluwe Derderian (“United Colors — Feet” and “RESPECT”), Frances Snihur (“Breakfast Vibes”) and Meps Schulte and Stig Fonslet (“Collaboration”). Schulte and Fonslet no longer live in Pinellas County.

Salaman’s “SmartOwl” caught the eye of Mayor Maureen Freaney, who asked whether a copy could be displayed at City Hall.

The Dunedin City Commission unanimously approved the Phase III art selections on April 16 as part of its consent agenda, with installation by SpeedPro Imaging not to exceed $3,000. Vice Mayor Walker moved the item and Commissioner Dugard seconded.

The gallery held its ribbon-cutting on Juneteenth 2024. It is managed by a subcommittee of the city’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, part of a broader public art program funded through development permitting fees. The city had added more than 20 public art projects since adopting its Public Art Master Plan in December 2018, bringing the collection to 37 works as of July 2025.

If you go: The Leland Chase Outdoor Gallery is free and open to the public at 1140 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Dunedin. The panels are viewable anytime from the sidewalk.