Arts and Humanities Sector
The Arts and Humanities sector encompasses a broad range of disciplines concerned with human culture, creativity, and intellectual traditions. It includes areas such as literature, history, philosophy, languages, classics, theology, music, drama, art, and design. The sector is characterised by critical analysis, historical interpretation, theoretical exploration, and creative practice, addressing questions of meaning, aesthetics, ethics, and human experience through textual, visual, and material forms.
A defining feature of the Arts and Humanities sector is its embrace of creative output, of which Wales has particular strengths, supported by a rich cultural heritage and a vibrant creative economy. It is internationally recognised as a hub for television and film production, home to world-class facilities such as Wolf Studios Wales and Dragon Studios, and a highly skilled workforce. Wales has served as the production base for major television series including Welcome to Wrexham, His Dark Materials, Doctor Who, and House of the Dragon - Series 2, as well as feature films like, James Bond - Quantum of Solice, Havoc and Dream Horse.
In addition to screen industries, Wales hosts a growing digital and design cluster, with innovation spanning animation, software development, and interactive media. Leading Welsh creative companies such as Bad Wolf, Tiny Rebel Games, Boom Cymru, and Real SFX are recognised for their excellence across broadcast, gaming, and special effects. The architecture and design sectors are also thriving, contributing to both domestic projects and international commissions.
The Welsh Government, through initiatives such as Creative Wales, provides targeted support for the sector—encouraging international collaboration, trade development, and workforce training.
Wales’s arts and humanities research sector combines creative excellence with cultural and linguistic depth, advancing understanding of identity, heritage, design, media, and human experience. Collaboration between academia, industry, and government enables agility, innovation, and real-world impact. Research strengths span language and heritage, creative industries, digital cultures, and applied design, reflecting how cultural scholarship and creative enterprise interconnect in Wales.
At the forefront of Welsh language and Celtic studies, is the Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies (CAWCS) of University of Wales Trinity Saing David, promoting research into the languages, literatures, and history of Wales and the Celtic world. Bangor University contributes expertise in bilingualism, culture, and language policy through its active research community in linguistics and heritage and its School of Arts, Culture and Language, which leads research in music, film, and heritage across North Wales.
Cardiff University excels in governance, global culture, and digital scholarship through the Wales Governance Centre, the Centre for Digital Humanities & Cultures Research, and the Cardiff Centre for Asian Studies (CCAS), which collectively advance understanding of politics, digital culture, and cross-cultural exchange.
Cardiff Metropolitan University advances creative and inclusive practice via the Centre for Applied Research in Inclusive Arts & Design (CARIAD) and the Cardiff School of Art & Design, combining artistic innovation with socially engaged research. Whilst the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, an award winning and leading hub for culture, creativity and entertainment, recognised as a national flagship for the arts, offering a diverse programme of exhibitions, performances, workshops and community activities and underpinned by Aberystwyth University’s wider strengths in creative writing, performance, and media through the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies and the Department of English and Creative Writing.
Swansea University fosters interdisciplinary collaboration through its Medical Humanities Research Centre, exploring intersections between literature, health, and ethics. The University of South Wales (USW) contributes through its Creative Industries Research and Innovation Group, which focuses on interdisciplinary themes of health and wellbeing, culture and heritage, as well as performance, media and screen innovation. USW also partners with the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) through an Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Focal Award, strengthening postgraduate research and training that powers Wales’s creative economy. The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) adds unique perspectives through the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre (RERC), which explores spiritual and philosophical experience, and the Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC), linking design, wellbeing, and digital innovation. Wrexham University complements these strengths through its Creative Arts Research Centre and Wrexham School of Art, fostering innovation in digital storytelling, fine art, and community-based creative practice across North Wales.
The creative industries landscape in Wales is supported by Creative Wales, a Welsh Government agency that invests in and champions film and television, music, games, animation, publishing, and other creative-sector activity. According to Creative Wales, the sector contributes around £1.5 billion annually to the Welsh economy, with significant growth in creative businesses over recent years. Trade & Investment Wales identifies the creative industries as one of Wales’s key economic sectors, highlighting the nation’s reputation as a hub for film and television production, digital content, and design innovation. Within this vibrant ecosystem, home-grown companies such as Buffoon Media, Truth Department, and Global Jam showcase Wales’s strengths in bilingual media, film and live production, and immersive digital storytelling, demonstrating how arts and humanities research connects directly with creative enterprise and innovation. Creative research and enterprise in North and Mid Wales, driven by Bangor, Aberystwyth, and Wrexham Universities, further ensure national balance and contribute distinctive regional perspectives.
Collaboration defines the Welsh arts and humanities and creative-industries ecosystem. The Wales Arts & Humanities Alliance (WAHAA) unites all Welsh universities to champion creative and cultural research nationally and internationally. Multi-partner programmes such as Clwstwr, which embedded R&D in Wales’s creative production sector, and the GW4 a Arts and Humanities Place-Based Partnership, connecting universities with national museums and cultural organisations, further strengthen Wales’s collective capacity for creative innovation and heritage scholarship.
Together, these research institutions, creative enterprises, and collaborative networks form a cohesive and dynamic arts, humanities, and creative-industries sector that celebrates Wales’s cultural distinctiveness while contributing to global debates in creativity, ethics, and communication. Through sustained partnership, investment, and innovation, Wales continues to demonstrate the power of culture and creativity to inspire, connect, and transform.
Wales Conference Ambassadors in the Arts and Humanities Sector
- Professor Nathan Abrams, Professor of Film, Bangor University
- Professor Andrew Hiscock, Early Modern Literature, Bangor University
- Dr Joseph Lambert, Translation Studies, Cardiff University
- Professor Michael Brown, Creative Industries, University of South Wales
- Dr Jessica J Clapham, Applied Linguistics, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
- Richard Hebblewhite, Computing, Wrexham University
- Adam Amor, Bafoon Media, South Wales
- Dewi Gregory, Film Producer, Truth Department
- Mr Alfredo Cramerotti, Contemporary Art, North Wales
- John Jackson, Esports Wales
- Wesley Skene, Welsh Fitness Expo and WS Marketing, South Wales
Get in touch
If you are a trade or specialist association or professional society. If you work for a not-for-profit or charitable concern. If you lead a commercial business or specific industry group. Or if you work in an academic setting alongside international colleagues, we would love to hear from you.
You can email, telephone us or complete our online enquiry form on our ambassador Wales homepage.
Email: ambassadors@meetinwales.co.uk
Telephone: +44 02921 661018
