Hirst to Hockney at Hayward

The highlights of the Arts Council's unrivalled collection of British modern art will go on show in the Hayward Gallery this week.

Work by 20th century artistic giants such as David Hockney, Lucian Freud, Bridget Riley and Francis Bacon will be shown alongside more modern offerings by Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Amish Kapoor and Jeremy Deller in a new exhibition called How To Improve The World: 60 Years Of British Art.

The pieces are drawn from The Arts Council Collection, a treasure trove of 7,500 works dating from 1946 to the present day.

Founded just after the Second World War to increase interest in contemporary art, the collection is "without walls" in that it has no permanent gallery but it has been managed by the South Bank's Hayward since 1987.

The collection depends on the generosity of the UK's leading art figureheads and the man who has dispensed the most largesse in recent years is Charles Saatchi.

Over the course of the decade Saatchi has donated 134 works of art, including pieces by Marc Quinn and Martin Creed. But very few works contributed by him will be seen in the new show, which will mainly focus on the 1946 to 1969 period and be accompanied by a rare talk by Sixties artist Riley.

The Hayward's new American director Ralf Rugoff said: "The exhibition celebrates the reckless, adventurous, aesthetic experimentalism in modern British art. There's a contemporary feel to it even though it celebrates 60 years of British art. Some of the art made 30 years ago could be shown in an East End gallery next week.

"The exhibition really walks you through the postwar period of contemporary British art, which had the most global impact, compared with any previous period, in terms of art being made here and art being shown around the world."

He added that although the collection has been shown throughout Britain and worldwide, in many cases this was the first time in decades that some of the artists' early work would be seen in London.

Mr Rugoff said that the Hayward would be putting on a debate programme in January entitled 100 Ideas To Change The World, a series of cultural talks and events in the run-up to the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall next June following a £91 million restoration.