Xavier Prep senior creates app mapping public art pieces exhibited throughout Coachella Valley

Sherry Barkas | Palm Springs Desert Sun

Show Caption Hide Caption Gigantic Palm Springs Babies unveiled during celebration The 8-foot-tall, 'naked' babies were unveiled Tuesday during a celebration atop The Rowan in downtown Palm Springs. (June 5, 2018)

From the giant naked babies in Palm Springs to the sculptures that dot the El Paseo median, the larger-than-life roadrunner in La Quinta and the various life-like murals in Indio and Coachella, artists’ creations decorate and bring life to the landscape of the Coachella Valley.

But finding each piece can be difficult and is done by just driving around or searching each city’s website — some with more detailed information than others.

It’s about to get easier to find those masterpieces and learn more about the artists through an app being created by Hunter Martin, 17, a senior at Xavier Prep in Palm Desert, for the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The app is in the final stages of development and is expected to launch this fall. Access will be free.

“Travelers today discover a destination through arts and culture,” said Jeff Miraglia, the CVB's chief creative officer, who has been working with Martin in developing the app.

The CVB represents the nine Coachella Valley cities and each city is distinct in its look and its personality; its public art is an expression of that, Miraglia said.

“The app highlights the wonderful, unique experiences you can find in each of the cities,” Miraglia said.

While exploring a city’s art, it is hoped that visitors will click links to the CVB website and find local restaurants to try and hiking trails that they otherwise might not have explored, Miraglia said.

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Creating apps isn’t new for Martin, who was in seventh grade when he developed one for King’s Schools in Palm Desert, where he was enrolled.

Kathy DeRosa, who was Cathedral City mayor at the time, heard of it and approached the youth about developing an app mapping the city’s public art pieces.

He developed a prototype and was working with the city when he did a presentation at a meeting with representatives of cities valleywide, who saw it and wanted to be included. This ultimately led him to Scott White, chief executive and president of the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“It’s been a long journey,” Martin said.

The user can access information a variety of ways, either by tapping on the city of interest, with a list of art pieces and locations popping up, or a map that pinpoints pieces throughout the valley.

Tap on a particular pin or art piece and learn more about the creation and creator.

If there is an art piece or collection of pieces the user most wants to see, the app will pinpoint the location and give directions from the user’s current location, Martin said.

In addition to the valley’s nine cities, the app will pinpoint art pieces in outlying areas, including Joshua Tree, Salton City and Salvation Mountain.

Each of the cities submitted to Martin the details of their public art collections, which he coded and added to the software.

“I have spent countless hours putting in the data, matching the pictures and the names,” Martin said, so much so that now when driving around the valley he can pinpoint and name many of the art pieces he’s seeing.

“It’s cool,” he said. “I think I’m more aware of the art now when I’m driving around.”

Born and raised in the valley and a resident of Palm Desert, Martin is the son of Cathedral City firefighter Terry Martin and Tiffany Martin, a dental hygienist.

Creating apps is something he taught himself through online courses and YouTube starting when he was about 11 years old.

"Even just troubleshooting, putting in the codes, seeing what works, what doesn’t, finding errors, researching those errors and spending hours on just one error to find out it was one mistake in one line," he enjoys.

This is the first time he has been contracted to develop an app and get paid for it — and it is something he plans to continue doing.

"It's my passion. It's what I enjoy doing," he said, adding it is how he spends most of his free time.

He hasn't yet decided on a college, but his goal is a master's degree in computer science.

Miraglia had nothing but praise for Martin.

"He is very articulate and very knowledgeable," Miraglia said, calling him an example of some of the talented youth living in the valley. "If any students have other great ideas, the CVB would love to hear about them."

Miraglia and Martin expect full-time residents will enjoy and use the app as much as the valley’s visitors.

The app also includes an art calendar and dining options, which all will link to the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau and California Desert Arts Council websites.

"It's also a wonderful tool to create conversation," Miraglia said, as residents show visitors the new tool for discovering what the Greater Palm Springs area has to offer.

"As chief creative officer for CVB, my goal is to make sure we develop a global brand that incorporates the newest trends and becomes trendsetting," he said.

Information will be updated periodically to reflect new pieces of art.

The one challenge in putting the app together was pulling together all the data, Miraglia said.

"It just takes time to correlate hundreds and hundreds of pieces of art and to make sure you have the most complete library possible," Miraglia said, and that it’s "as user friendly as can be."

Desert Sun reporter Sherry Barkas covers Tourism and Families. She can be reached at sherry.barkas@thedesertsun.com or (760) 778-4694. Follow her on Twitter @TDSSherryBarkas