Mapping Cardiff’s Creative Economy

Cardiff University's Creative Economy team has produced a detailed map of Cardiff's creative economy workforce. The research identified 2,788 creative companies, organisations and freelancers in Cardiff and surrounding wards. The report, Mapping Cardiff's Creative Economy , established that proximity to the city centre and the tendency of creative activity to cluster in particular neighbourhoods are the two main factors in the presence of creative activity. This work sits alongside the formation of the Creative Cardiff Network , which has an 800-strong membership of people working in creative organisations, businesses and jobs in Cardiff and the city region. Professor Justin Lewis of Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies, compiled and edited the report. Organised by creative industries group - as defined by Department of Media, Culture & Sport (DCMS) - there are four areas where Cardiff appears to have particular strengths (by which we mean comparative volume of activity rather than quality of output): Music, Performing & Visual Arts is the largest creative sector in Cardiff, where the proportion of freelancers is four times the national employment average and the proportion of companies/businesses more than double. Film, TV, Video, Radio & Photography is the second largest creative sector, reflecting the growth of a major film and TV cluster in Cardiff Bay.