Public Art Projects

The much-awaited Curlew Water Tower project has been completed! Known for his large-scale murals all over Tampa Bay, Tom Stovall is the high-flying talent that gave Dunedin's 150-foot-high, 1-million-gallon Curlew Water Tower a cute critter makeover. A gopher tortoise named "Henry," after the local legend Henry Scharrer, settler and famed Caladesi Island resident, adorns the water tower's east side. ABC Action News profiled Tom and our tower.

And on the west side, a sea turtle, swimming out to the Gulf, Tom painted "Sylvia," named for notable marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, and Dunedin resident, Sylvia Earle. Fondly nicknamed "Her Deepness" by The New Yorker and New York Times ~ is a legendary marine biologist, earth activist, lecturer + author. Sylvia, the sea turtle, brings special recognition to Dunedin as the Gulf Coast's designated Hope Spot.

Working with partner Mark Winter, Stovall used weather-resistant two-part epoxy paint to create the turtle and tortoise.

This public art project was developed due to the need to maintain and repair the existing water tower. The entire project was funded by Water/Wastewater Fund and consisted of internal and external tower repairs and a new base coat of paint.

Thank you to all that came to recognize this incredible project.

Located inside the atrium, guests, visitors, and the public will be greeted by an approximate 18 ft x 65 ft screen printing mural “The Sun Will Rise Again” by renowned Florida native painter Christopher Still. Still was raised in Dunedin and resides in Tarpon Springs where his studio is also located.

“The Sun Will Rise Again” depicts a sunset view very familiar to longtime Dunedin residents. The view is west from The Fenway across St. Joseph’s Sound to Caladesi Island at low tide. The painting theme is: “With the incoming tide, all boats will rise” – which represents our City and residents will “rise” together for the greater good of Dunedin.

About the Artist

Artist Heath Satow has been designing and fabricating public art for over twenty years and he loves what he does. He welcomes the challenge of creating art that appeals to a diverse audience from children to art critics. His sculpture Ripple won the 2012 Americans for the Arts’ Public Art Network Award for its “innovative and creative contribution in the field of public art”, and since then he’s been exploring the theme of “reflection” as both a literal and metaphorical subject matter.

Formerly located in Los Angeles, Heath builds everything in-house in his Ogden, UT warehouse studio, using direct fabrication techniques that minimize material waste. None of the work is contracted out to overseas fabricators. For over two decades he has designed and produced his own work. He takes great pride in the fact that he has completed every single project on budget and on time, without exception.

According to the Public Art Master Plan Guidelines, art for this project was selected through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process, submitted nationwide thru city outlets and various public art networks. A subcommittee, chaired by the City’s Art Consultant Elizabeth Brincklow, was selected consisting of an Arts and Culture Committee member, city representative, city hall architect and engineer, other arts professionals, and a neighborhood representative. Together, the committee reviewed art qualification submittals, selected and interviewed semi-finalists, and recommended Heath Satow’s as the selected artist. The Arts and Culture Committee (ACAC) confirmed unanimously the selection and recommended the artwork to the City Commission, who approved the selection of Satow’s “The See” on December 17, 2020.

As the final submittal for consideration, the artist chose to represent his concept with a sleek contemporary interpretation of a water droplet, to remind viewers they are a part of something larger. A single drop alone can’t impact change, but enough drops together can be the catalyst for great change. The artists related this to many drops making an ocean much like many individuals come together to create a city.

“The See” is anticipated to be installed at the New City Hall site in October 2022 with an artist dedication following installation.Government Center Art

Timeline of Public Meetings

• December 9, 2019 - Approval of Request for Qualifications
• June 30, 2020 - Review of Submissions and Selection of 3 Semi-Finalists
• October 27, 2020 - 3 Semi-Finalist presentations & Selection of the Finalist
• October 30, 2020 - Artwork Presented to the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee - unanimous approval
• November 4, 2020 - Artwork Presented to the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Committee - unanimous approval
• December 17, 2020 - Artwork to be presented to the Dunedin City Commission

Written for the dedication of Heath Satow's sculpture "The See", Dunedin, Florida. December 16, 2022.

Condensation

Individually, we are a drop
Together we are an ocean.
--Ryunosuke Satoro

We are reflected in each others’ eyes
as in a drop of water,
stained and stainless
and, beyond, the blue and white of the sky
green of trees and dun-brown of earth. 

From clouds made of drops
we come together once again,
flow onto streets, sluice into streams and creeks
into puddles third grade soccer players splash,
into a welcome quenching for the runner,
into water in which an old woman swims
(who feels no older than thirty)
into water that flows to the roots of live oaks,
into water that can only wash the world clean
as water and not as drops. 

Our blood has the same salt as the first oceans.
that’s how far back we go together—
salt in drops of blood, salt in drops of sweat.
Alone, a drop of sweat evaporates on the sidewalk
on a hot Dunedin day, but our sweat together
builds a community, breaks apart old barriers.

A hundred years ago the sea cut Hog Island in half—
all those drops of salted water
together, unstoppable, like the sweat
of all our work together
when we see ourselves in each other’s eyes
as we pause to lift together
as the sea lifts everything, easily, at once. 

-- Dr. Gregory Byrd

The John R. Lawrence Pioneer Park Project is one of Dunedin's most active green spaces and holds regular events, concerts, movies, and markets. As one of the most used spaces, the park needed enhancements to update features and improve accessibility. In an effort led by the City of Dunedin and Community Redevelopment Agency and funded by the CRA, the park underwent a renovation in early 2021 including brickwork on the stage steps and inset lighting, updated plaques at the entrance, brick pavers, stained concrete, sitting/knee walls, trees, landscaping, and a public art feature.

The public art component was the last piece to be completed at the park. A subcommittee of the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee (ACAC) was tasked with reviewing the Public Art project as a piece of the larger renovation project. The Project Subcommittee was chaired by ACAC member Jackie Nigro, with representatives from the Neighborhood, the Arts community, the Project Planner, a Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Committee (CRAAC) member, and a member from the ACAC.

A Request for Qualifications was issued in July 2021 for which seven applicants responded. The subcommittee narrowed down the applicants to a finalist selection and reviewed virtual proposals in August 2021.

The selected artist, Suzi K. Edwards, was endorsed by the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Committee. Suzi was presented and approved as the selected artist with her "Below the Wall" theme for mosaic panels by the City Commission on October 19, 2021.

The public art project, awarded in the amount of $18,500.00 to Suzi K. Edwards, was funded through the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) through its efforts to enhance and improve John R. Lawrence Pioneer Park.

About the Artist

Suzi K. Edwards is an accomplished mosaic artist with works across the United States ranging from private to public applications up to $100,000.00. Suzi has had numerous workshops, residencies, and has been featured in several publications. She works out of her studios in New York and West Palm Beach. Suzi developed the theme "Below the Wall", a concept depicted in the mosaic murals installed on the knee walls show a variety of Dunedin-centric images -- people and activities from "the knees down" -- a ball player sliding into base, the legs of beach goers walking on sand, the kilt, shoes and socks of a Scottish lass and lad, and more. The colorful images were handcrafted, designed, painted, and kiln-fired tiles made by Suzi in her studio. The field tiles used are a mix of colorful 1" tiles.

There were three winners in this category, and the colorful benches are ready and waiting at bus stops along Patricia Ave.

"Young Optimists" Margaret "Meps" Shulte

"Love Your Neighbor" Mason Gehring

"A Colorful Adventure" Zoe Perez

On April 13th, 2009, Dunedin residents woke up to a pleasant surprise. The town had been mysteriously painted orange in the middle of the night! The murals replicated the logos on vintage orange crates, but where did they come from?

It was soon revealed that local artists Steve Spathelf and Marsha Goins had stealthily painted oranges on storefronts around town in the wee hours of the morning.

That night Spathelf, also known as "The Orange Guy," and Goins painted seven locations with the now infamous Dunedin oranges. People became infatuated with finding each one, and it quickly gained media attention. Business owners began putting up signs requesting their very own orange murals!

Since that night, Dunedin oranges have become a hot commodity and hundreds can be found around town.

The City of Dunedin Artistic Bicycle Rack initiative was established in the late summer of 2009. The idea was borne following a trip by Matthew Campbell, Assistant to the City Manager to New York City and New England, where similar artistic bicycle racks were discovered in Manhattan and in West Hartford, Connecticut. Realizing that Dunedin and West Hartford both have authentic, pedestrian and bicycle friendly downtown areas complete with quaint stores and restaurants, the idea of establishing a similar program in Dunedin began to materialize. After researching and finding no artistic bicycle rack initiatives in Pinellas County, and minimally elsewhere in the State, Mr. Campbell introduced the program in Dunedin.

(Bike Rack at the Community Garden by Bill Coleman)

Throughout this project, staff never lost sight of the opportunity of utilizing public funding for a City bicycle rack. In April of 2011, Mr. Campbell and Phyllis Gorshe, Library Director were successful in commissioning an artistic bicycle rack at the Dunedin Public Library. With the help the Friends of the Library, the City’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, and Bill Coleman, a local fabricator, the Library now has two new bike racks in the shape and color of classic novels, with the pages of the open books serving as individual compartments for bicycles. Initially, a cost analysis revealed that the design, construction and freight of two similarly-sized bike racks could total $4,000 to $6,000, however staff was convinced the project could be accomplished for much less. As a result, a budget of $1,800 was established, and four months later, the City had its first public funded, artistic bicycle rack. Since completion of this rack, the City has commissioned the design and construction of a historic locomotive bicycle rack opposite Main Street and the Pinellas Trail. This rack is complete with a working light, bell, and badging that corresponds to one of the original locomotives that called on Dunedin via the Orange Belt Railway, now the modern Pinellas Trail.

The City’s Artistic Bicycle Rack program represents a regional quality of life benefit to both the community and the environment, is innovative and is cost effective. Dunedin, along with a host of other Suncoast communities, can be enjoyed year-round. The ability to ride a bicycle and have adequate facilities for the same is an attractive quality of life that often cannot be enjoyed in other communities, without similar infrastructure or climate. The bicycle rack program further benefits the environment by providing residents an alternative mode of travel, and ultimately leads to a reduced carbon footprint. The artistic bicycle initiative also serves as a tremendous educational tool by promoting cycling awareness for the through a partnership with public art initiatives. One of Mr. Campbell’s original initiatives in introducing the Artistic Bicycle Rack program to Dunedin was to promote cycling as a leisurely way of “getting around” the City by individuals and families.

Project Participants

• Joseph Kokolakis – Kokolakis Construction
• Spiro & Labrine Voutsinas – Bayshore Express Mobil
• John Hodges – Dunedin Animal Medical Center
• Walt Wickman – Walt’s Olde Bay Café
• Bill Coleman – Arc Angels, Inc.
• Peter Kreuziger & Karl Reidel, Global Investments, Inc.
• Phyllis Gorshe, Dunedin Library Director
• City of Dunedin Public Works, Parks & Engineering Section staff
• Robert DiSpirito, City Manager
• Mayor Dave Eggers
• Vice Mayor Ron Barnette
• Matthew Campbell, Assistant to the City Manager