It's Burns, but not as we know it. Fifty of the world�s leading contemporary artists, including Tracey Emin and Jake and Dinos Chapman, are to feature in a major new exhibition celebrating the works of the national bard.

It's Burns, but not as we know it.

Fifty of the world's leading contemporary artists, including Tracey Emin and Jake and Dinos Chapman, are to feature in a major new exhibition celebrating the works of the national bard.

Dozens of artists from the cutting edge of the contemporary art world, and a number of Scottish artists such as Peter Howson and Calum Colvin, will present new works in the Inspired exhibition to be held at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow next year.

The exhibition, to be held in the library's Old Reading Hall, will also feature rarely seen "relics" from Robert Burns's own life and his circle of family and friends, as well as the Mitchell's own Burns collection of documents, including the original manuscript of Auld Lang Syne, bought in 1998.

The Burns collection at the Mitchell has more than 4000 items related to the poet, including two copies of the Kilmarnock Edition (1786) and two printings of the Edinburgh and London editions (1787).

The exhibition will celebrate Glasgow's part in the Homecoming Scotland festival, marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759.

Emin, who has staged a major retrospective of her work this year at the National Galleries of Scotland, has long been an admirer of the poet and will provide a new work - possibly a painting or a drawing - for the exhibition inspired by his words, which will run from April until September next year.

The exhibition will be free of charge but the works will be on sale. It is hoped the money raised will pay for the cost of the exhibition and raise money to help conserve the city's Burns collection.

The show will also be accompanied by a large education project, which, in a move described as "unprecedented" by its organisers, will include schoolchildren from Edinburgh as well as Glasgow.

More details on the complete list of artists taking part in the exhibition will be released in the coming months.

Sheilagh Tennant, the curator of the exhibition - which will feature artists from Russia, Scotland, Australia and the US as well as the UK - said: "This exhibition will show just how far Burns's influence has spread, not only geographically but temporally.

"We have artists from across the world, and they all have a real reason why they want to take part. Tracey Emin has already spoken beautifully about how inspired she was by him; she is a genuine fan."

Ms Tennant's family has connections to the life of Burns, and she personally owns some items linked to the poet, including the Auld Alloway Clootie Horn, the horn of a bull which may have played a part in the inspiration for Tam O'Shanter. The bull was apparently spotted in a ruined church near Burns's house by a young relative, and its horns were mistaken for those of the devil.

Karen Cunningham, head of Glasgow's libraries, said: "It is going to be very special, a mix of the traditional and the cutting-edge.

"What is so important about this exhibition is that we don't want Homecoming to be about the history of Scotland as if it is all over. This will be contemporary, and relevant, and the influence that Burns can still exert - he's not only our national poet, he is an international icon.

"We are not making it up, these are all artists who wanted to do this. We can make the point that Burns is alive, still.

"Glasgow is so strong with Burns clubs and societies, so we know there is a strong audience out there. One thing we would like to say is that we hope this will appeal to that traditional audience as well as the younger audience who are interested in cutting edge contemporary art."

Peter Howson said: "I have never felt happy about the way Burns's image is used. I have always considered him to be the greatest poet and songwriter that ever lived so I am really pleased to have the opportunity to be involved in Inspired."

Ms Tennant added: "The seeds for this exhibition were sown many years ago, when I was first made aware of the Tennant family connection with Robert Burns, when I was shown and told the story attached to the Auld Alloway Clootie Horn.

"I started to read about him and it became clear how complex and insightful he was - so far from the one-dimensional character often portrayed.

"When I heard about the plans for Homecoming Scotland 2009, this seemed the ideal opportunity to stage a contemporary art exhibition, inspired by his life and works while at the same time, creating an international focus on Robert Burns and his contemporary relevance."