Mapping Wales’ creative pulse: the journey to the Creative Economy Atlas Cymru

When we first set out to “map” Wales’ creative economy, there was no single place to find data. As the creative industries span various classification codes, hybrid firms and project-based work with a high share of self-employment there isn’t a single administrative dataset that captures the whole picture and even definitions vary across frameworks. Various organisations hold valuable datasets, but each covering different slices of the ecosystem that still need stitching together. This complexity is global, not just an issue in Wales. That challenge sparked a multi-year journey at Cardiff University’s Centre for the Creative Economy, one that began with our earliest mapping work and has grown into today’s national, interactive Creative Economy Atlas Cymru.

Where we began

Our starting point was Cardiff: Creative Capital – Mapping Cardiff’s Creative Economy (2017), the first attempt to chart the city’s creative footprint in a systematic, accessible way. The report was supported by the British Council and it profiled companies, freelancers, and hot-spots, and confirmed what many sensed: creativity was central to the local economy, but evidence was scattered and hard to act on. That report laid the methodological foundations for everything that followed.

Prototyping an atlas in Clwstwr

The next step forward came with Clwstwr (2018–2023), the AHRC-funded R&D programme for the screen sector in South Wales. Within Clwstwr we built a first prototype of a national atlas: an online map that began to layer companies, spaces, and projects to show how activity clusters across Wales. The prototype proved the concept and revealed where we needed more granularity, better coverage, and a broader view of the creative economy.

From prototype to accessible platform in Media Cymru

In 2023 – 2024, we expanded and rebuilt the tool – this time including more data and more features – working with Creative Wales (Welsh Government) and within the research, development and innovation (RD&I) programme Media Cymru. The result is the current Creative Economy Atlas Cymru, managed by the Centre. It’s designed for researchers, policymakers, businesses and freelancers alike – providing a resource for anyone who needs a clear, navigable picture of Wales’ creative ecosystem. Engagement with our tool has been steady and on request, we have shared the Atlas at industry and academic conferences where it has received positive reception.

What the Atlas lets you do

The Atlas enables you to explore nine creative sectors and nine types of creative spaces, alongside networks/freelancers, innovation and funding projects (Clwstwr and Media Cymru), and training opportunities in Wales. Crucially, you can zoom from national to postcode level, or switch to local authority views to see where activity concentrates and where gaps might exist. It’s both an analytical and practical tool: use it to find coworking or rehearsal spaces, discover clusters, or scan the pipeline of R&D projects.

Start here: Explore the Atlas 

Under the hood, the Atlas aggregates multiple datasets. Firm-level insights draw on Bureau van Dijk / Companies House micro-data (via SIC codes), with the option to view different sector delineations (DCMS, Creative Wales, and Media Cymru) so users can compare perspectives. Beyond businesses, datasets include Creative Cardiff spaces, Creative Cardiff members (opt-in), Cultural Freelancers Wales (opt-in), Clwstwr and Media Cymru projects, and training mapped by the University of South Wales. By combining national datasets with locally sourced data points, the Atlas offers full picture of Wales’ creative economy capturing not only headline trends but also the grassroots spaces, networks and freelancers that usually slip through national statistics. We document sources openly on the site’s Data Sources page. Additionally, we added various accessibility features, that help everyone to get access to our data.

A tool shaped by iteration (and users)

From day one, we built the Atlas as a living resource. The interface supports filters (e.g., sector, space type, funder and year for projects), and overlays to help contextualise creative activity in place. These features emerged directly from workshops and user testing: researchers wanted to interrogate sector trends; local authorities asked for training and infrastructure layers; freelancers needed a simple way to find spaces and networks.

A core aim is to break data silos and make insights usable to a wide audience: from prospective investors to early-career creatives choosing where to base themselves. That is also why the Atlas is publicly accessible and continuously improved with partner input.

Why this matters now

Wales’ creative economy is dynamic and distributed, spanning micro-firms, freelancers, and a web of spaces and programmes. Without a shared evidence base, it’s hard to spot clusters, identify “not-spots” or align investment in skills and infrastructure. The Atlas responds to that need: it surfaces the breadth of activity and makes it actionable – for policy design, regional development, business decisions, skills planning and sector advocacy.

What’s next and how to get involved

As Wales, the UK and, increasingly, global partners build a clearer picture of the creative economy, one thing is constant: better decisions follow better data.

Our invitation is simple:

• policymakers – use the Atlas to target investment, test assumptions and track change;
• researchers and analysts – bring your datasets and questions so we can keep advancing transparent, place-based visualisation;
• practitioners and communities – tell us what’s missing and what would help you next.

Our Atlas data will be updated yearly and until then we invite you to explore, critique and collaborate so the Atlas grows with (and for) the sector.

If you want to contribute a dataset, spot an omission, or discuss new layers, please contact the team at [email protected].