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    • German Expressionist Prints
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    • Past Exhibitions
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The Prints of David and Sarojini Johnson

The Prints of David and Sarojini Johnson

Plan your visit

July 19th, 2025 – January 4th, 2026

3rd Floor Gallery

Collectors, educators, and artists David and Sarojini Johnson have spent decades sharing and practicing the art of printmaking. Each with their own vision and inspiration, together, their works represent a beautiful partnership and interpretation of the medium.

Explore the themes of nostalgia, community, nature, and perspective in is wonderful collection of works.

 

Companion events: 

Sunday August 10th –  Kaffee und Kuchen

 

Artist Statements

David Johnson

I don’t need a photograph to tell me what the world looks like. And we all see the world differently. Two peoples’ versions of any occurrence are always different.  

Drawing is a way of attempting to see and understand the world.  It is a graphic representation, a translation of vision into pencil lines. Sometimes we have to draw quickly, with haste. Perhaps it is getting dark or it is going to rain, the model has things to do and doesn’t want to sit all day.  There is such a thing as urgency.

An etching or a relief print elaborates and enriches the drawing and often translates it into something with added dynamics.   

What does it feel like to walk down the street, to be in the world?

He lives in Iowa City.

Sarojini Jha Johnson

My family came to the United States from India many years ago. My work reflects my preoccupation with my knowledge of India as I have experienced it through my journeys there and through stories told by my parents. Certain objects and images are persistent in my mind and are emblematic or evocative of many things, from mundane to sublime.


Some of these objects are plants such as datura and images of favorite deities such as Ganesha and Lakshmi. Uprooted people often experience a longing for things that remind them of their former home. This sort of nostalgia or yearning for familiar things, especially food, has been a part of my family’s experience for as long as I can remember.


My father grew exotic vegetables with names I do not even know in English. This amuses and amazes me. I believe that the dialog about culture and nationality is vital and that the visual arts are an important forum for communication of the subtleties and variations of individual viewpoints. Recently I have been making artist’s books that delve into the issues of climate change and the effects of human folly on the natural world. I also sometimes celebrate the beauty and mystery of the universe in these works.

Biography

Sarojini Jha Johnson has taught printmaking and foundations at Ball State University since 1985. She grew up in Ohio and earned undergraduate degrees in French and drawing from the University of Cincinnati. She received an MFA in printmaking from Miami University where she began working with animal and plant forms in her prints.  Her work places natural forms in a fictional context. An essential theme expressed is the human desire to make time stand still in order to experience a particular moment in time. Her main medium is color intaglio printmaking, a medium that allows for great creativity and invention in terms of surface and color. Recently, she has been exploring memories and impressions of India, her country of origin. Animal images such as fish and birds still emerge in this work. She also makes books that highlight the devastating effects of humankind’s tampering with nature by introducing flora and fauna that take over. 

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German American Heritage Center and Museum

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Museum exploring the German immigrant experience and history of Davenport and Iowa!

Open
Schuetzen Park Celebration
Sunday August 2nd | 1:00 pm
FREE

�The Schuetzen Park will continue its 155th anniversary celebration of the grand opening of the Park which took place in June 1870 with a free public concert. The Deutsche Polka Band will headline the event on Sunday August 2nd. Beginning at 1:00 food and drinks will be served, and the concert will commence at 2:00. Admission to the Park is always free.

Schuetzen Park is located at 700 Waverly Road in Davenport. More information can be obtained by calling: 563-449-2358 or by email: SchuetzenPark@yahoo.com.

Photo from Davenport Iowa History:
Schuetzen Park Club House - 1902
"The beautiful and inviting Club House at Schuetzen Park was under the care of Bruchman & Co. in 1902. August Bruchman and Fred Kuehl were lessees of the park, operating the saloon, restaurant, dancing pavilion and bowling alley. Fred Kuehl was the manager of the Turner Hall and the New Grand Opera House at Third and Scott streets, while his brother-in-law, August Bruchman, was the former head bartender at the Turner Hall. August and his wife Mary resided at Schuetzen Park."

Schuetzen Park Celebration
Sunday August 2nd | 1:00 pm
FREE

�The Schuetzen Park will continue its 155th anniversary celebration of the grand opening of the Park which took place in June 1870 with a free public concert. The Deutsche Polka Band will headline the event on Sunday August 2nd. Beginning at 1:00 food and drinks will be served, and the concert will commence at 2:00. Admission to the Park is always free.

Schuetzen Park is located at 700 Waverly Road in Davenport. More information can be obtained by calling: 563-449-2358 or by email: [email protected].

Photo from Davenport Iowa History:
Schuetzen Park Club House – 1902
"The beautiful and inviting Club House at Schuetzen Park was under the care of Bruchman & Co. in 1902. August Bruchman and Fred Kuehl were lessees of the park, operating the saloon, restaurant, dancing pavilion and bowling alley. Fred Kuehl was the manager of the Turner Hall and the New Grand Opera House at Third and Scott streets, while his brother-in-law, August Bruchman, was the former head bartender at the Turner Hall. August and his wife Mary resided at Schuetzen Park."
…

Open
Davenport Coliseum, 1911. Images from German American Heritage Center & Museum Collections. 

Initially called the Saengerfest Halle, this building is now the Col Ballroom in Davenport, IA. 

Look at those colors!

Davenport Coliseum, 1911. Images from German American Heritage Center & Museum Collections.

Initially called the Saengerfest Halle, this building is now the Col Ballroom in Davenport, IA.

Look at those colors!
…

Open
Only a few more days left to enjoy free admission in July! 🎟️

Visit the museum free of charge through July 31st. Explore the history of Davenport and the German immigrants who built our community. 

Open:
Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 4 pm
Sunday 12 - 4 pm
Closed Monday

Only a few more days left to enjoy free admission in July! 🎟️

Visit the museum free of charge through July 31st. Explore the history of Davenport and the German immigrants who built our community.

Open:
Tuesday – Saturday 10 am – 4 pm
Sunday 12 – 4 pm
Closed Monday
…

Open
German Lutheran Church in Geneseo, IL. 1890. 

Image from German American Heritage Center and Museum Collection.

German Lutheran Church in Geneseo, IL. 1890.

Image from German American Heritage Center and Museum Collection.
…

Open
The Outing Club, 1900. Image from German American Heritage Center Collections.

Established in 1891. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977 and a contributing building of Vander Veer Park Historic District since 1985.

Though not directly part of the German American Immigrant history, The Outing Club is a pillar in Davenport's communal history.

The Outing Club, 1900. Image from German American Heritage Center Collections.

Established in 1891. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977 and a contributing building of Vander Veer Park Historic District since 1985.

Though not directly part of the German American Immigrant history, The Outing Club is a pillar in Davenport`s communal history.
…

Open
Stay tuned for a BIG reveal coming next week!

After 16 years on display and noticeable wear and tear to our permanent exhibition panels, we are installing new, dynamic, and exciting signage and artifacts to our timeline area on the 3rd floor. We can't wait to see our hard work come to life in our permanent exhibition space.

The new information still explores the experiences of German immigrants to our area, but we are adding more artifacts, telling broader stories and experiences of residents in the Quad Cities during the high points in immigration history, and exploring what German immigrants arrived to in Iowa—some expected, and others not.

Thank you to Regional Development Authority for their support of this project. And thank you to our generous donors who helped us recover the lost funding after the federal budget cuts earlier this year: Cal and Jill Werner, Bob Thoreson, The Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, and an anonymous donor. We could not have done this project on our original timeline without the support of our community. 

And thank you to Edwards Creative for working with us on this project. Your designs and imagination will bring this exciting project to life!

Stay tuned for a BIG reveal coming next week!

After 16 years on display and noticeable wear and tear to our permanent exhibition panels, we are installing new, dynamic, and exciting signage and artifacts to our timeline area on the 3rd floor. We can`t wait to see our hard work come to life in our permanent exhibition space.

The new information still explores the experiences of German immigrants to our area, but we are adding more artifacts, telling broader stories and experiences of residents in the Quad Cities during the high points in immigration history, and exploring what German immigrants arrived to in Iowa—some expected, and others not.

Thank you to Regional Development Authority for their support of this project. And thank you to our generous donors who helped us recover the lost funding after the federal budget cuts earlier this year: Cal and Jill Werner, Bob Thoreson, The Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, and an anonymous donor. We could not have done this project on our original timeline without the support of our community.

And thank you to Edwards Creative for working with us on this project. Your designs and imagination will bring this exciting project to life!
…

Open
We're excited to share that our virtual version of our "Recent Acquisitions" exhibition is now live! This exhibition explored some of the newest and most interesting items added to our collection from the last 6 years. It was on display in person until June 1st, but now it is available to view year-round online. 

In addition to photographs and the didactics from the original exhibition, our summer intern, Enya, has translated the exhibition to German, provided voiceovers for the artifact labels, and conducted additional research and resources to enhance the exhibition. We hope these additions are useful and help make this content more accessible to a wider audience.

You can explore the virtual exhibition here: https://virmuze.com/m/gahc/x/whats-new-recent-acquisitions-to-the-collection/ 

Enya is a student in the @wiulovesmuseumstudies MA program (anticipated to graduate in December of 2025) and an intern at the German American Heritage Center and Museum. She is German-American, having been born in Bavaria, and regularly visits family there. As she was a military-brat, she has also lived in the Rhineland-Pfalz region of Germany, England, and multiple U.S. states. She loves helping others learn about German culture, as well as learning about different cultures from around the world.

We`re excited to share that our virtual version of our "Recent Acquisitions" exhibition is now live! This exhibition explored some of the newest and most interesting items added to our collection from the last 6 years. It was on display in person until June 1st, but now it is available to view year-round online.

In addition to photographs and the didactics from the original exhibition, our summer intern, Enya, has translated the exhibition to German, provided voiceovers for the artifact labels, and conducted additional research and resources to enhance the exhibition. We hope these additions are useful and help make this content more accessible to a wider audience.

You can explore the virtual exhibition here: https://virmuze.com/m/gahc/x/whats-new-recent-acquisitions-to-the-collection/

Enya is a student in the @wiulovesmuseumstudies MA program (anticipated to graduate in December of 2025) and an intern at the German American Heritage Center and Museum. She is German-American, having been born in Bavaria, and regularly visits family there. As she was a military-brat, she has also lived in the Rhineland-Pfalz region of Germany, England, and multiple U.S. states. She loves helping others learn about German culture, as well as learning about different cultures from around the world.
…

Open
Happy World Emoji day! What emojis best represent you? We think 🧳🌲📚🍄🍫 represent us pretty well.

Happy World Emoji day! What emojis best represent you? We think 🧳🌲📚🍄🍫 represent us pretty well. …

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German American Heritage Center & Museum
712 W 2nd St.
Davenport, IA 52802

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Sundays open 12 – 4 pm
Closed Mondays

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German American Heritage Center & Museum
712 W 2nd St.
Davenport, IA 52802
Tuesdays – Saturdays open 10 am – 4 pm
Sundays open 12 – 4 pm
Closed Mondays

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