How to Improve the World

60 years of British Art, Arts Council Collection

07 September - 19 November 2006

The Hayward Gallery presents an exhibition of British Art from the last six decades. How to Improve the World explores what is arguably the most fertile era in the History of British Art, a period when artists working in this country have a made a global impact. Drawn from the Arts Council Collection, the exhibition will feature work by 130 artists from the last 60 years.

Artists include: Francis Bacon, Patrick Caulfield, Jeremy Deller, Lucian Freud, Gilbert & George, Liam Gillick, Mona Hartoum, Barbara Hepworth, Susan Hiller, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Richard Long, Sarah Lucas, Steve McQueen, Henry Moore, Chris Ofili, Bridget Riley, Mark Titchner, Cereth Wyn-Evans.

How to Improve the World encomasses painting and sculpture, video, sound, photography and digital media, chosen from the Collection to illustrate the breadth of artistic activity in Britain since 1946. From the aftermath of the Second World War to the exuberance and irreverance of the 1960s, from the brazen assertiveness of 1980s, to the technical advances of today's culturally diverse society, British artists have registered the changing attitudes to politics, economics and culture.

In response to the exhibition, Liam Gillick has produced a series of posters for the gallery foyer. Combining his own longstanding interest in models of utopia with the ideals embodied in the Collection, the project provides and wry commentary on the history of the Arts Council.

Visit our dedicated minisite: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/improve

Installation photos: Marcus Leith.