Tracey Emin is on a shortlist of artists who want to produce the next sculpture for Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth.

The woman best known for her unmade bed joins Turner Prize winners Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and Jeremy Deller, 2004 nominee Yinka Shonibare and Bob & Roberta Smith, the professional name of Patrick Brill.

Previous works such as the Christ-like figure by Mark Wallinger, the plinth on a plinth by Rachel Whiteread and the current Model For A Hotel 2007 by Thomas Schutte have made the commission the most high-profile public art project in Britain.

Sandy Nairne, the National Portrait Gallery director who chairs the fourth plinth commissioning group, said: "The commission has established an international reputation but it's complex and demanding and I'm just really pleased that it has brought about this amount of interest. It needs artists with some track record."

The group considered candidates and approached them informally to establish whether they were interested. The six will each produce a maquette or scale model of their idea, all of which will go on show in January. The selected artist will be announced later next year and will be installed in 2009.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "The fourth plinth commissions have become an integral part of the vision for Trafalgar Square as a vibrant accessible public space."

The scheme was initiated by 1998 by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and responsibility was subsequently transferred to the Mayor and the Greater London Authority.