About Us.
Shwmae! We’re Culture Cardiff, an independent online magazine celebrating Cardiff in all its brilliant, creative glory. From sweaty gig venues and late-night food runs to new restaurant openings, theatre, art, indie shops and community stories, we’re here to help you actually use your city.
Culture Cardiff was born with the help of a government grant and a simple idea: Cardiff deserved a culture magazine that spoke to real people, not owners of million-pound homes and marble kitchens. Most glossy titles focused on luxury lifestyles and country retreats. We wanted something different, a digital-first mag made for the 18–35s who live, study, work and go out here every day.
We’re proudly local, independent and a little bit obsessed with this place. We spend our time hunting down the gigs you can’t miss, the plates worth queuing for, the shows everyone’s talking about and the under-the-radar events that deserve a packed room. When we shout about somewhere, it’s because we genuinely think it’s worth your time, not because someone slipped us a brown envelope.
What You’ll Find On Culture Cardiff
Gigs & nights out – from tiny basement shows to huge Cardiff Castle moments
Food & drink – new openings, comfort classics and late-night favourites
Theatre, art & culture – plays, exhibitions, festivals and creative goings-on
Community & local stories – the people, projects and places shaping the city
Whether you’ve lived here forever or you’ve just moved to Cardiff and want to know where to start, we’re here to be your mate who always knows what’s on: in both English and Welsh.
How We Choose What To Feature.
We can’t cover everything, so before we decide to post we ask ourselves:
Is it exciting or genuinely useful?
We prioritise events, places and stories that feel fresh, interesting or actually helpful.
Does it fit our audience (roughly 18–35)?
We focus on the people who live, study, work and go out in Cardiff right now. If it’s something they’d realistically spend time or money on, it’s more likely to be a fit.
Is it rooted in Cardiff’s culture and community?
We care about things that feel connected to the city. Whether that’s a local venue, a touring artist playing here, or a national event that matters to Cardiff.
Sometimes we work with partners on paid or sponsored content. When we do, it’s clearly labelled, and we only partner with people and places we’re happy to put our name next to.
Meet the Founder.
Culture Cardiff was founded by Ivan Jenkins-Jones, a Cardiff-based content creator and lifelong city nerd who grew up wondering why all the local magazines seemed more interested in million-pound homes than the places his mates actually went.
Backed by a Welsh Government grant, Ivan set up Culture Cardiff to create the kind of digital-first city magazine he wished had existed for 18–35 year olds in Cardiff – plugged into gigs, food, theatre, art and community, not just glossy lifestyle spreads. Since then he’s gone on to become a Cardiff Life Award winner, building Culture Cardiff alongside his work as a freelance content creator.
A proud Welsh speaker, Ivan’s work sits somewhere between storytelling and tourism board – shining a light on the people, venues and moments that make Cardiff feel like home. Culture Cardiff is his way of giving something back to the city that raised him, one story at a time.
If you’d like to work with Ivan or feature your event, venue or project on Culture Cardiff, you can get in touch at ivan@culturecardiff.co.uk or via our Work With Us page.
Submit Your Event Or News.
We love hearing about what’s happening in the city, and a lot of our favourite finds have come from people simply getting in touch.
If you’re running a:
gig, club night or festival
food, drink or market event
theatre show, exhibition or creative project
community event or local initiative
…and you think it would suit Culture Cardiff, you can:
📩 Email us at ivan@culturecardiff.co.uk
Please include:
Event name
Date and time
Venue and address
Ticket or booking link
2–3 sentences describing what it is and who it’s for
1–3 images we’re allowed to use (1x Landscape and 1x Deep if possible)
We read every email, but we can’t guarantee coverage or reply to every submission especially around busy periods. If we’re able to feature your event, we’ll either list it in a guide, shout about it on social, or get in touch for more info.
Language & Accessibility.
Cardiff is a bilingual city, and we want Culture Cardiff to reflect that.
We’re proudly Welsh-speaking, and where we can, we include Welsh alongside English. On our website heading you should see a translate icon in the top right (In the Menu dropdown on mobile)
We aim to keep our language clear and straightforward, avoiding jargon or overly formal copy. We want people to feel included, not talked down to.
On the accessibility side:
We use subtitles on our social video content wherever possible, so people can follow along with the sound off or if they’re hard of hearing.
We design for mobile first, making sure our guides and articles are readable on a phone (because that’s where most people are).
We’re gradually improving things like image alt text and colour contrast as we grow.
If you spot anything we could do better from an accessibility perspective, we’re always open to feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions.
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Mostly, yes. Our focus is on Cardiff and nearby areas that are part of most people’s “Cardiff life” – places you can realistically get to for a night out, day trip or event. Occasionally we’ll feature something slightly further afield if it’s a big deal for Cardiff audiences (for example, a major festival or tour that lots of locals are heading to).
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Send us an email with all the key info: date, time, venue, ticket link, a short description and a couple of images. We can’t promise coverage, but we do read everything and include as many relevant events as we can in guides and round-ups that suit our audience.
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General listings in round-ups and “what’s on” style guides are usually editorial – we don’t charge just to mention that something exists. However, if you want guaranteed coverage, a deeper feature, dedicated social content or a campaign around your event or venue, that would fall under paid or sponsored work.
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Editorial is chosen by us because we genuinely think it’s interesting or useful for our readers.
Sponsored content (or “in partnership with…”) is paid for by a venue, brand or organiser.
We clearly label sponsored pieces and only work with partners we’re happy to put our name next to.
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No. Culture Cardiff is independent. We sometimes work with partners, sponsors and promoters, but the brand itself isn’t owned by the council, a newspaper group or a big agency.