When you walk into INTER’s new art space in SoHo, you step into the stars.
“Everyone loves space, right?” said creative director Maria Moyano. “But I wanted to take it further—create a story you could walk through.”
When Moyano joined INTER seven months ago, she saw the potential for a deeper kind of experience—one rooted in real astronomy, layered with imagination, and built for all ages. Her starting point came through Selena Norman, one of INTER’s graphic designers, whose father happens to be an astrophysicist.
Norman connected them, and he introduced Moyano to the Cygnus constellation, where NASA has discovered more than 1,500 exoplanets. One of them, Kepler-22b, stood out. Believed to be the most Earth-like planet found so far, it became the inspiration for INTERs’ Biolumia and Volcana, different worlds in the exhibit.
“We don’t know what’s out there—so why not imagine it?” Moyano said. “I think space intimidates people, but maybe it should inspire curiosity instead. This is meant to do that, while staying grounded in reality.”
Moyano, who previously helped launch the Museum of Ice Cream, brought deep experience in immersive design. After founding her own production company, Moyano Productions, she was brought on full-time to lead INTER’s creative direction—with freedom to experiment.
Once the new exhibit was greenlit, she turned to AI tools to accelerate the process. From scripting and animating robotic characters to generating a voice for Nova, INTER’s holographic space commander, she says it wouldn’t have come together so quickly without AI.
“I actually recorded myself doing the facial movements and voice,” she said. “Then we used AI to transform it into Nova.”
She also voiced Zilo, a cheerful explorer, and Lumia, a glowing green lifeform from Biolumia.
Though initially skeptical of AI, Moyano now views it as a useful tool.
“It can’t replace human creativity,” she said. “It saved time, but I still needed animators and engineers to make it work.”
INTER’s exhibits will continue to evolve, but space will remain the guiding theme. A new dome show is set to debut this summer, promising a fresh planetary journey.
For Moyano, the mission is clear: as Nova says at the journey’s end, “the same energy that moves the stars moves within you. The same curiosity that brought you here will carry you even further.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit inter.nyc.
