MANILA -- What do National Artists H.R. Ocampo, Cesar F. Legaspi, Vicente S. Manansala, Arturo R. Luz, Ang Kiukok, Jose T. Joya, Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, Carlos “Botong” Francisco, F. Sionil Jose, and Cirilo F. Bautista have in common?

They were either founding leaders of or major players in the growth of The Saturday Group of Artists or simply the Saturday Group, the country’s premier artists’ group.

Joining them through the group’s historied 50 years are 247 accomplished artists and art lovers, led by founder Alfredo “Ding” Roces and core members Tiny Nuyda, Eduardo Castrillo, Manuel Baldemor, Juvenal Sansó, Mauro Malang Santos, and Rodolfo Paras-Perez.

Their enduring bond of friendship is honored in a commemorative exhibition called “Saturday Group Gold: Celebrating 50 Years in Art”, which gathers 112 artworks from past and present members, at the 440-square-meter Bulwagang Juan Luna (main gallery) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

Exhibition curator Ricky Francisco, through the support of the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division and Filipino Heritage Festival, also brought in 40 pieces from the CCP visual arts collection, including works of National Artists and esteemed members Solomon Saprid, Edgar Doctor, Romulo Olazo, Rodolfo Samonte, Allan Cosio, Cid Reyes, Ladi Laviña, Francisco Verano, Galo Ocampo, and Anita Magsaysay-Ho.

The works of past president Cris Cruz and noted members Lino Severino, Onib Olmedo, Sofronio “SYM” Mendoza, Romulo Galicano, Ephraim Samson, Merci Melchor, and Betsy Westerndorp came from the artist’s or private collections.

Storied past

A chance meeting one sunny Saturday afternoon in 1968 at the defunct Taza de Oro along Dewey Boulevard (now Roxas Boulevard) in Malate has led to 2,500 more Saturdays of friendship and camaraderie in art for what we know today as the Saturday Group.

They talked shop, visited homes of artists, touched life-size creations of Guillermo Tolentino, sketched the human figure and landscapes, played basketball, ate, painted and traveled together, supported young artists through school, and raised funds for socio-civic organizations and causes, among many other things.

Founding leader Hernando R. Ocampo leads the list of 258 known members who all lend prestige to the group as having “the largest number of established and respected artists in its roster,” according to Francisco.

“In the exhibition, the artists are grouped according to who was the leader during their membership, which begins from the founding members under the group’s first recognized leader, H.R. Ocampo,” Francisco explained.

Succeeding heads were Cesar Legaspi, Onib Olmedo, Mauro Malang Santos, Cris Cruz, Buds Convocar, Anna de Leon, Migs Villanueva and Omi Reyes.

CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division officer-in-charge Rica Estrada said visitors to the exhibition will also learn about the Saturday Group's history and numerous accomplishments through archival materials, including photos of get-togethers, projects, exhibits and news clippings about its activities.

Members of the exhibition’s curatorial committee are Jerome Malic, Justin Nuyda, Omi Reyes, Susan Reyes, Chichi Salas, Migs Villanueva, and Inna Naanep Vitasa.

Nude sketching

The exhibition opened with sessions in nude sketching led by Australia-based Alfredo Roces, one of the group’s four founders, and interaction painting (artworks made by two or more artists) of both past and current members—two traditions that the group introduced to the country’s art scene in 1969 and 1971, respectively.

Nine artists participated in the nude sketching session inside the main gallery: Hermes Alegre, Dante Castillo, Allan Cosio, Ivi Avellana-Cosio, Gig de Pio, Carlos Gabuco, Roel Obemio and Franklin Caña Valencia.

Saturday Group president Omi Reyes said the exhibition served as a big reunion of sorts of former and present members whose sense of camaraderie was sealed primarily by doing art together.

“We aren’t just an organization, we are a family,” he said, as members were reunited at the exhibition “just like a family reunion.”

The old did mix with the new when Roces reminisced on the group’s early days.

Roces recalled: “We did not have a formal structure. We had no officers. Everyone was equal. Everyone was welcome, non-artists included. After all, Atty. Tony Quintos and businessman Enrique Velasquez, both original founders, were not artists. Gallery owners, writers, art patrons, students, ‘osiosos,’ plus an old lady peddling art supplies were all part of the group. The rule was, if you showed up twice at the Taza de Oro gathering, you were considered a member.”

He also congratulated the group “for carrying the torch that extra mile forward” and thanked the CCP “on behalf of the original members for giving the Saturday Group a place in the nation’s art biography.”

Viewing the exhibition, he was left awed by the “bountifully overwhelming” activity of contemporary art in the country.

“Reuniting with the works of old friends and seeing new expressions of the contemporary Saturday Group, I am touched by nostalgia and joy,” he said. “Once again, I glimpse the familiar artworks and styles of old companions, some now in that glorious studio in the sky, and I greet them as of old—Nanding Ocampo, Cesar Legaspi, Joe Joya, Onib Olmedo, Galo Ocampo, and so many others.”

Formal organization

The Saturday Group was eventually formalized when it was officially registered at the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2017. Its own gallery at the Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City also opened middle of last year.

Reyes said the group continues to help young artists through its scholarship program, collaborate with entities like Gawad Kalinga for its social projects, and raise funds for various institutions such as the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital and Cid Reyes Foundation.

Its 31 current members include former presidents Buds Convocar, Anna de Leon, and Migs Villanueva, Roel Obemio, Salvador Ching, Aner Sebastian, Francis Nacion, Jaime Gubaton, Gerrico Blanco, Carlo Ongchangco, Eman Santos, Anthony Palo, Danny Pangan, Robert Deniega, Ronnie Bercero, Joy Rojas, Lydia Velasco, Franklin Caña, Hermes Alegre, Ding Hidalgo, Rudy Roma Lunod, Inna Naanep Vitasa, Tessie Picaña, Rose Gisbert, Nida Cranbourne, Sheila Tiangco, Joseph Villamar, Ysa Gernale, Daisy Carlos and Helena Alegre.

“Saturday Group Gold: Celebrating 50 Years in Art” is on view until May 6 at the CCP.