Paper short abstract:

Drawing on West African empirical perspectives both historical and contemporary, this paper frames an inquiry into the decolonial potential of urban cultural elites, as a field of research, which lies at the crossroads of international relations, cultural policy and management.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing on West African empirical perspectives both historical and contemporary, this paper frames an inquiry into the decolonial potential of distinctive 'people as infrastructure' that yet remain mostly off the map of Africanist scholarship: urban cultural elites. It suggests an incursion into a field of research, which lies at the crossroads of insights brought by international relations, cultural policy and management. Considering elites as 'powerful intermediaries' whose power rests on being able to forge connections and bridge gaps, it focuses on these cultural makers in relation to processes of urban cultural governance. It thus draws the contours and provides examples of these distinctive producers in relation to concepts and practices of the 'cultural polis' and urban creativity in African contexts.