The East-West: The Art of Dialogue initiative has been featured in an article in the Washington Times.
The article, called 'Orientalist art’s reversal of fortune', describes how Shafik Gabr has become a major collector of Orientalist art - and how his paintings influenced his decision to launch the initiative.
He is quoted: "The Middle East was always a crossroads, and the Orientalists are part of a long and continuing conversation between the West and the Middle East.”
“I’m inspired by what these artists achieved, traveling to strange lands, integrating with the society with no preconceived perception of what was there, sometimes living for years with Arab societies and in some instances settling there, to articulate their message in their paintings. It was a Western optic, but it carried an Eastern message.”