Sophia Jabbour-Uban

2024 CUT/PASTE Feature

MCAD photography senior Sophia Jabbour-Uban ‘24 will probably not grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer, and her family couldn’t be prouder. “Art was always a part of our daily practice, and my mom and my dad nurtured creating things as a life skill,” she says. “I have classmates whose parents are disappointed they’re in art school, but for my family, creativity is definitely allowed.”

In fact, Sophia is about to become a third generation MCAD alum, following behind her late grandmother, Deborah Abrahamson, who studied painting at MCAD, and her mother Georgette (Gigi) Jabbour ‘93 and father Aaron Uban ‘94, who met while they were students. Her grandfather, Gabriel Jabbour, a former fine arts photographer, even sponsors an annual MCAD scholarship through the family business, West Photo, the iconic photographic supply store in northeast Minneapolis.

“If you think of something you want to exist in the world, somebody in my family could probably make it, which is why I’ve always held that as a high value,” says Gigi. “My uncle, who was a jeweler, has a 3D printer and just collaborated with me on some stamps I wanted to make for my pottery. From my grandmother’s knitting and sewing to my father’s welding, I would say we’re really a family of makers.”  This fall, Sophia and Gigi proved it with mother-and-daughter submissions to the MCAD Art Sale, which recently expanded the rules of the event to include the work of more senior alums. 

Her parents look forward to seeing Sophia graduate from their alma mater in December and make her way in the world of photography. They’re confident that her time at MCAD will pay off even if she takes a different path. “While I still work with my hands creatively, it’s not my ‘real job,’” says Gigi, who is the owner and marina manager at Minnetonka Marina and Skiff Craft. “I come to my business with a different mindset than I would have if I’d gone to business school. When I have a goal, I come at it in creative ways. Learning to make art at MCAD teaches critical thinking, being comfortable with trial and error, and other skills that really matter.” Her daughter Sophia agrees. “MCAD has given me much better critiquing skills, to look at my work objectively and decide what’s working and what’s not. I know that’s a skill that I can apply in my real life in lots of ways.”