A decade of creative innovation: How Creative Cardiff is shaping the region’s creative future
12 March 2026
Creative Cardiff has recently celebrated ten years of connecting and championing the region’s creative community, and now we’re taking the opportunity to spotlight the ideas, partnerships and innovations that have shaped this journey so far. Sitting within the Centre for the Creative Economy, our work is grounded in collaboration between researchers, creatives and industry. With March’s Creative Cardiff theme focused on ‘Promoting yourself and your work’, it feels timely to highlight how our work has amplified voices, supported innovation and strengthened the creative fabric of the Cardiff Capital Region.
Innovative frameworks to support regional creative clusters
At Creative Cardiff, we believe that a connected creative sector is a more innovative, resilient one. Over the last decade, we’ve supported projects that connect researchers, creatives, and communities to experiment, test, and reimagine what’s possible in South East Wales’ creative economy.
The Creative Industries Cluster Hubs (CICH) Initiative (July 2023 – March 2024) was a £200K pilot project led by Cardiff University’s Centre for the Creative Economy via the Creative Cardiff network. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the project was part of a £2.6M UK-wide investment in “Demonstrator” projects designed to explore how existing creative clusters could grow, attract investment, and deliver impact.
Through CICH, Creative Cardiff played a key role in extending Cardiff’s creative cluster with wider regional activity; bringing together local creative businesses, researchers, and local authorities in Newport, Monmouthshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf to share learning and highlight the potential of the creative industries across the Cardiff Capital Region. The work reinforced Cardiff and the region’s position and future potential as a hub of creative innovation in Wales.
The impact of the pilot was significant, generating new revenue, jobs, and creative connections across the region. As previous Head of Creative Cardiff, current CEO of Cyfartha Foundation and report author Jess Mahoney reflected, the work showed just how much potential exists beyond the capital when creative people and places are meaningfully supported:
As Cardiff’s creative cluster grows in scale and renown, it will become increasingly important that we harness the wealth of emerging talent across our wider region to take advantage of new opportunities, convene new communities and build thriving, representative new creative places. Creative Industries Cluster Hubs is a first step in achieving this.
To illustrate the breadth of the work and the communities involved, here are some of the case studies developed through the programme.
Joining the Dots and mapping the ecosystem: Understanding the value of creative networks
Our Joining the Dots research project in 2021 sought to understand how creative networks like Creative Cardiff generate value, both economically and socially. With a focus on collaboration between industry, academia, policymakers and the public to effect change (the quadruple helix model), the findings revealed the often-overlooked role of creative networks in strengthening local ecosystems and economies. In a challenging economic climate, this work helped highlight the tangible and intangible benefits of creative collaboration, from shared knowledge and resources to innovation and wellbeing. Read the full report here.
Another major milestone in understanding Wales’ creative landscape has been the development of the Creative Economy Atlas Cymru. Building on the earlier Clwstwr prototype, the updated Atlas was developed by the Centre for the Creative Economy with support from Creative Wales and the Clwstwr and Media Cymru programmes.
The Atlas provides a comprehensive, geographical picture of the Welsh creative ecosystem, mapping nine creative sectors, nine types of creative spaces, and a variety of networks across Wales. The interactive map allows users to explore creative activity from local to national level, breaking down data silos and revealing where creative energy is concentrated. Researchers describe the Atlas as the most comprehensive of its kind in the UK, a tool that will continue to evolve with new data and insight.
Creating spaces and opportunities for artists
Creative Cardiff is committed to creating meaningful opportunities for the creative community to grow. Much of this work focuses on supporting underrepresented creatives and creating spaces where new voices can flourish. Through DIVERGE, a coworking and networking space for neurodivergent creatives, and our partnership with arts production company Lone Worlds (which began with GORWEL and continues this year as the newly funded Cwir: Creative Community) we’ve helped to develop inclusive, identity-centred spaces across the city. While DIVERGE offers a dedicated environment for neurodivergent creatives to connect, collaborate and create, Cwir builds on the foundations of GORWEL to embrace a wider LGBTQ+ community through events, skillshares and workshops that celebrate queer creativity and foster connection, learning and visibility.
Alongside these projects, AMDANI, our writing workshops codelivered with students from Cardiff University’s MA Creative Writing course, offers emerging writers’ space to experiment and build confidence. Our partnership with Hypha Studios has also transformed two empty retail units on Cardiff’s Queen Street into temporary creative spaces, Future Arts Collective Cymru and PWSH and Neurospicy Play Date were selected to take up residence, providing room for production, exhibition and public engagement. Through Greening Cathays, we explored how creative practice can drive environmental awareness and wellbeing, partnering with Cardiff University’s School of Pharmacy’s Pharmabees project and supported by Cardiff City Council via the Shared Prosperity Fund. We commissionined seven artists to develop work inspired by nature, pollination and community, contributing to the wider conversation about the role of the creative industries in building a greener, fairer future.
Most recently, Creative Cardiff has introduced a new Community Forum. This features a group of creatives from across the Cardiff Capital Region who will help shape what’s next for the network. The forum will play a key role in amplifying local voices, guiding our programmes and ensuring our work reflects the needs and ambitions of the creative community.
Looking ahead: A connected, creative future
What stands out most from Creative Cardiff’s first decade is the power of connection. The way ideas grow when people (and cake and caffeine) come together to collaborate, question and experiment. As part of the Centre for the Creative Economy within The Social Science Research Park (SPARK), we’re positioned within a unique ecosystem where researchers, industry partners and creative practitioners can explore new possibilities side by side. This environment allows us to continue championing innovation across the region, supporting creative talent and shaping conversations about the future of Wales’ creative economy.
As we step into our next chapter, we’re committed to further strengthening the networks, spaces and opportunities that help creativity thrive. Through our new Community Forum, launching a new project ‘Creatives Mean Business’ to support business skills within the creative community, and our ongoing projects, we’re excited to keep building a creative future that is inclusive, fair, green, and rooted in the communities we serve.
Written by John Evans, Creative Cardiff (Events and Projects)
