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“Simply Me” – Portrait Exhibit Celebrates Childhood

CHELMSFORD — Chelmsford portrait photographer Alison Taylor is turning portraits of local children into a community art experience through “Simply Me,” a black-and-white portrait exhibit hosted at the Chelmsford Public Library.

The exhibit features timeless black-and-white portraits of children ages 2–8, created with a simple philosophy: strip away the distractions and capture children exactly as they are at this moment in their lives.

“Children change so quickly, and I wanted to create something that really celebrates who they are right now,” said Taylor, owner of Alison Taylor Photography. “Without elaborate sets or props, the focus becomes their expressions, their personalities and all those little things their families never want to forget.”

Taylor has been photographing families and children for more than 25 years. She created the Simply Me project as a way to give families a timeless portrait of their child while also bringing those individual portraits together to create a larger celebration of childhood for the community.

The Simply Me portraits are on display at the Chelmsford Public Library throughout the month of October, with a community reception on October 10 from 12–2 p.m. Families, friends and members of the community are invited to visit the exhibit and experience the collection.

The library exhibition follows Taylor’s earlier Simply Me Art Show at Navigation Brewing Company, where 33 portraits were displayed.

For Taylor, the heart of the project is preserving a fleeting stage of childhood and allowing families to see their children celebrated as works of art.

“My hope is that when parents look at these portraits years from now, they don’t just remember what their child looked like,” Taylor said. “I want them to remember who they were.”