Nikoo Nikpeikaran on Reimagining Immersive Experiences, Community Building, and the Vision Behind GLOWIN Vancouver

In a world where digital interactions increasingly replace genuine human connection, Nikoo Nikpeikaran is creating spaces where people can slow down, participate, and truly experience the moment.

As an experience designer, creative artist, facilitator, and founder of GLOWIN Vancouver, Nikoo has built a creative platform around a powerful idea: art is not just something to observe , it is something to enter, feel, and share.

Through the fusion of light, sound, movement, projection, creativity, and community-driven experiences, she transforms ordinary gatherings into immersive environments where strangers become collaborators and creativity becomes the bridge between people.

From intimate creative workshops to brand activations, educational experiences, and community events, Nikoo’s work challenges the traditional idea of what an event can be. Her vision goes beyond entertainment; it is about creating meaningful encounters that inspire curiosity, connection, and a renewed appreciation for the creative spirit within everyone.

In this exclusive IKONIK Founder Feature, Nikoo shares the story behind GLOWIN Vancouver, why creativity belongs to everyone, and how immersive experiences are shaping the future of connection.

For readers discovering you for the first time, could you introduce yourself and share the story behind GLOWIN Vancouver?

I'm an experience designer, creative artist, facilitator, and the founder of GLOWIN Vancouver.

I create immersive multisensory  creative experiences using art, light, projection, sound, movement, and creative activities. Some of the experiences I create are playful and energetic, while others are more immersive, reflective, and meditative.

I work with brands to create experiences around their products and stories, and with retreat planners, event producers, schools, communities, organizations, colleges, universities, and companies to bring creative experiences into their events and programs.

What I really enjoy is creating environments where people can step away from their usual routine, experience something different, and connect with themselves and with each other.

What inspired you to create GLOWIN Vancouver, and what did you feel was missing from traditional events and networking experiences?

I wanted to create something that felt more natural than traditional networking.

So much of traditional networking starts with people standing around, trying to make conversation with strangers, and I've never found that particularly effective.

I thought: what if people had something to experience something creative together first?

When you're painting, drawing, sculpting, moving, or trying something you've never done before, you naturally have something to talk about. The connection happens on its own, you don't have to force it.

That's the idea GLOWIN was built around. I create environments where people can participate in something creative together, and walk away having shared an experience with each other, not just exchanged business cards.

GLOWIN blends art, creativity, wellness, and human connection. What does "immersive" mean to you?

For me, immersive means that you're not just watching. You're actually part of what's happening.

It could be light around you, music, movement, projection, painting, drawing, sculpture, or even something as simple as closing your eyes and using other senses

I like experiences that engage more than one part of you.

We're surrounded by screens and information all day, so I think there's something valuable about being physically present somewhere and doing something with your hands, your body, or your senses.

Sometimes that experience is energetic and social. Other times it's quiet and reflective.

I don't think immersive has to mean complicated or high-tech. It can simply mean creating an environment where someone becomes completely engaged in the moment.

I've seen people arrive alone and leave having connected with others. Was creating that sense of connection always part of your vision?

Yes. Human connection is one of the things I care about most in my work  and for me, art and creativity are at the center of that connection.

I create spaces where people don't have to perform socially. At most events, the first question is "what do you do?" and suddenly you're just your job title. But when you're sitting beside someone, making something together, you're simply two people sharing an experience  open, present, and free to just be yourselves.

I love watching people arrive alone and, a few hours later, leave laughing, talking, and exchanging contacts with people they'd never met before. Those are some of my favourite moments, and they happen more often than you'd think.

You can't fully design human connection, but you can build the environment that invites it in  and creativity is what makes that environment come alive. That's exactly what I set out to do with GLOWIN.

Many people believe they're "not creative." Why do you think creativity is something everyone can benefit from?

I hear it constantly: "I'm not creative."

What people usually mean is, "I'm not good at art"  but those are two completely different things.

Creativity isn't reserved for artists. It's the way we explore ideas, solve problems, communicate, make decisions, and respond when life throws us something unexpected. It's a muscle everyone has, whether they've flexed it lately or not.

Children get this instinctively. Hand a kid a crayon and they'll draw something strange, scribble it out, start over, and never once worry if it's "good." Somewhere on the way to adulthood, most of us lose that freedom  we get scared of being bad at something, so we stop trying at all.

That's exactly the freedom I want to hand back. In my experiences, nothing has to be beautiful. Nothing has to be right. You just have to show up, get your hands moving, and let yourself experiment. That's where creativity actually lives not in talent, but in permission

You've expanded into experiential learning, corporate experiences, and brand activations. Where do you see the biggest opportunity for immersive experiences?

I'm interested in working across quite a few areas because I don't think immersive experiences belong to one industry.

I work with brands to create experiences around their products and stories. I also work with retreat planners, event producers, schools, communities, colleges, universities, organizations, and companies.Education is particularly interesting to me because I think people remember things differently when they're actively involved.

That's part of the thinking behind Immersive Life Drawing, where traditional figure drawing is combined with light, colour, movement, music, and atmosphere.I'm also interested in corporate and brand experiences that don't feel like a standard corporate event or promotional activation.

For me, the interesting question is always: what does this particular group of people need to experience?Sometimes they need energy and play. Sometimes they need connection. Sometimes they need to slow down.The experience should come from that need.

Your Immersive Life Drawing program takes a different approach to teaching anatomy and observation. Why can experiential learning be effective?

I've always enjoyed learning through doing, so that naturally became part of how I teach.

With Immersive Life Drawing, the basic foundation is still drawing and observing the human figure. But instead of putting students in a traditional classroom environment, I introduce light, colour, movement, music, and atmosphere. It changes the way you look.

You're still thinking about anatomy, proportion, form, and observation, but you're also responding to the environment around you.

I think when people are genuinely curious and involved, they remember the experience differently.

What advice would you give companies that want to create experiences people genuinely remember?

I think the environment is a really important part of the experience. It's not just the background. It can change how people feel, how they move, and how they interact.

In my work, I often use light, sound, colour, movement, space, and different sensory elements to create an atmosphere. I'm interested in making experiences interactive, where people aren't just looking at something but actually becoming part of it.

I think that's what makes an experience memorable. When you can see it, hear it, touch it, move through it, and interact with it, you experience it differently.

So I would start by thinking about the people and asking: What do we want them to feel? What do we want them to experience? And how can the environment and the interaction help create that feeling?

Looking back, what's one lesson that changed the way you approach your creative work?

I've learned that I don't have to know exactly where an idea is going before I start creating.

Earlier in my career, I was more focused on having a clear plan and making sure everything looked right. Now I give myself more space to experiment, observe, and let the experience develop.

That has changed the way I work. I start with a feeling, a question, or something I'm curious about, and then I explore how that can become an experience for other people.

I think some of my most interesting work has come from that freedom to explore rather than trying to control every detail from the beginning.

What's your long-term vision for GLOWIN Vancouver and your creative practice?

I want to keep creating immersive experiences and give myself room to explore different ideas and formats.

I want to connect GLOWIN with more brands, companies, organizations, and creative partners, and bring immersive experiences into different settings. That could be a corporate experience, a brand activation, an educational program, or a creative experience for a community or organization.

I also want to continue developing my own artistic work. One project might be a playful art experience, another could be a quiet sensory environment or a larger immersive installation.

Human & Nature is an example of a more personal direction for me. It's an immersive project about our relationship with nature and the idea that humans aren't separate from the natural world. I'm also interested in bringing more of my own background and perspective into my artistic work.

Ultimately, I want GLOWIN to keep growing as a creative platform where I can explore ideas, collaborate with different people and brands, and create experiences that feel meaningful, beautiful, and memorable.

If readers remember just one thing after this interview, what would you hope it is?

I would say that creativity belongs to everyone.

You don't have to call yourself an artist. You don't have to know how to draw. You don't have to make something perfect.

You can just be curious. I also think we need more opportunities to step away from our usual routines and actually experience something with other people. That's what I love about creating experiences.

For a few hours, people can put their phones away, make something with their hands, listen, move, laugh, be quiet, meet someone new, or simply see things differently.

That's what I'm trying to create with GLOWIN: spaces where people can experience art, but also experience themselves and each other in a different way.

For Nikoo Nikpeikaran, creativity is not reserved for artists, and connection does not have to be forced. It begins with creating the right environment — one where people feel invited to explore, participate, and simply be present.

Through GLOWIN Vancouver, she continues to challenge the way we think about experiences, reminding us that the most memorable moments are not always the ones we watch, but the ones we become part of.

As brands, communities, and organizations search for deeper ways to engage people, Nikoo’s work offers a compelling reminder: the future of experiences is not just about what people see — it is about what they feel, create, and remember together.

Discover more founder stories and visionaries shaping the future of creativity, innovation, and human connection with IKONIK Magazine.