My First Connection: Ana María Jiménez of Taller sin Borde
In the 83rd episode of Perceived Value, host Sarah Rachel Brown begins her travels through Colombia with an in-depth conversation with Ana María Jiménez of Taller sin Borde and the co-curator of the CONNECTOR exhibition.
Broadcast from Medellín, this episode marks the start of Season 9: CONNECTOR, recorded during Sarah’s early 2025 travels across Colombia while studying Spanish and living as a digital nomad. What began as a one-way ticket evolved into one of the most ambitious projects of her career: an international exhibition and podcast series exploring the lives and practices of Colombian jewelry artists.
Ana María shares how her background in architecture and fine arts informs her jewelry practice, which bridges the object, body, and space through a deeply intentional and experimental approach. The two discuss her creative space Taller sin Borde (“Workshop Without Borders”), her research project Volver al Proceso, and how she reconstructs pre-Hispanic goldsmithing techniques using stone tools, clay molds, and lost-wax casting.
Their conversation explores the cultural differences between Colombia and the U.S., the realities of working as an independent artist, and the freedom that comes from defining success on one's own terms. Together, Sarah and Ana María reflect on what it means to build a sustainable creative life rooted in curiosity, care, and connection.
📍 CONNECTOR: Jewelry as a Language of Connection opens November 15, 2025, at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, New Jersey—just ahead of New York City Jewelry Week.
🎓 To U.S.-based listeners: Ana María will be a visiting artist at The Bench Jewelry Studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on November 7–8, teaching her workshop Exploring Alternative Casting and Forging, where participants will learn pre-Hispanic metalsmithing techniques.
🎧 This episode is sponsored by SNAG Metalsmith, the publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). Subscribe and save 25% with code VALUE25 at snagmetalsmith.org.
Taller sin Borde is Ana María Jiménez's creative space, where she moves between the object, the body, and space. She is guided by a slow and conscious approach, attentive to the sensitive, the ancestral, and the experimental.
She holds a Master's degree in Fine Arts (2018) and a degree in Architecture (2007) from the National University of Colombia. Since 2009, she has trained in jewelry making with masters in Colombia, Spain, and the United Kingdom—including Kelvin Birk, Jaime Díaz, Sergio Fernández, and Cristian Kiseno—and has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Colombia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Japan, and Brazil. She has taught master classes at A&M (USA), SNAG (USA), and La Massana (Barcelona).
In Volver al proceso, her line of research, she traces and reconstructs pre-Hispanic goldsmithing techniques based on artisanal methods and historical studies. In her workshop, she integrates stone tools, lost-wax clay molds, and alternative castings to engage with the present through the medium of body, craft, and material.
