From Canvas to Tour: Bailey Lalonde on Building a Collaborative Art Practice

Bailey Lalonde is a multidisciplinary artist and curator with over 40 exhibitions across ten countries. This spring, she launches the SS26 Europe Art Tour, presenting The Dance: Between Polarity — a collection created in collaboration with her mother, Christi Lalonde, under the duo name
LALONDE & LALONDE. For ArtJobs, Bailey discusses a multi-city tour, the artistic collaboration, and the philanthropic engine behind her work.

How did the idea for the SS26 Europe Art Tour first come about? Was it a response to a specific opportunity or a long‑held ambition for LALONDE & LALONDE?

We did an independent tour last spring, sponsored by Marina Flamingo and Christie’s Costa Rica, where we exhibited in New York, East Hampton, London, Paris, and Milan.

This March, we were invited by Anna Sashina, curator of Forbes France and Paris Fashion Air, to exhibit at Maison de l’Amérique Latine in Paris during Fashion Week.

After that, a few exhibition ideas began to emerge across Europe, starting with a show in Munich in collaboration with Sabrina Lindeman. I did an artist residency at the legendary Studio 46 in Barcelona, founded by Joan Barbara. There I met art manager Martin Sky, and we decided to plan this tour, supported by his new art app for artists’ administration called isee.art.

You created this collection together with your mother, Christi. Can you walk us through your creative process together — how do you navigate disagreements, and when do you know a painting is truly finished?

We both have our own independent practices as well as our collaborative practice. This tour is exhibiting a combination of those works. It is such a beautiful and profound experience creating Intergenerational art together. We work on the canvases from start to finish together at the same time. If we are working on several canvases within a series simultaneously, we have them pinned up in our Costa Rica jungle home studio and we take turns on the canvases. Many of them however we will work on together at the same time.

My mom is quite meticulous. She used to be a professional dancer, so she has a strong focus on anatomical accuracy. She also has great taste and a strong eye for design and colour, as she worked as an interior designer for many years.

I am a bit more erratic, I guess. My expression is very intuitive. Creating together is a dance between structure and flow. Sometimes we disagree, or one of us paints over something the other loves. Then we step back, take a break, and return to the piece once the energy has settled.

It’s also very much about knowing when something is finished. Sometimes we go too far, step away for a while, and come back to it with fresh energy.

The tour includes a philanthropic initiative: 5% of art sales from this collection go to the Jose Sulaiman Fund to support retired boxers. Tell us more about it. What is the story behind this initiative?

My father was the WBC Light Heavyweight World Champion boxer in the 80s, Donny “Golden Boy” Lalonde. I grew up attending boxing conferences and meeting some of the most legendary champions, who turned out to be some of the most gentle and genuine people I’ve ever met. My father had a vision of giving back to boxing champions, as many of them face health and financial struggles after retirement, and he has always been deeply passionate about wellness.

My friend Mambu Bayoh and I decided in 2021 to collaborate on a way to support my dad’s vision for Taking Kare of Our Own, with art. Mambu is a very established fine art photographer with his art in the MoMA permanent collection and I’ve been curating art shows for years. In 2023 we launched the CHAMPIONS X Taking Kare of Our Own initiative at the legendary Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York with the support of Jill Diamond, Mauricio Sulaiman and the World Boxing Council. They have a fund (501c3) called the Jose Sulaiman Boxer’s Fund which supports fighters in critical financial situations.

We are hosting a private event during the Cannes Film Festival on May 20th at a private villa in Cannes, France, bringing together the worlds of boxing, fine art, and film with CHAMPIONS Cannes. The event is produced by Paris Fashion Air with Anna Sashina and Alex Surba, curated with Anthony Haden-Guest, and sponsored by The Retail Nomad, Flexecution, and the Nosara International Film Festival, with a few sponsorship opportunities still available. We decided to donate 5% of sales from this tour to support the fighters. 

Your show history spans independent curations, galleries, and institutions. What practical advice would you give to other artists who want to move from gallery representation to self‑organising a European tour like SS26?

I am a firm believer in going for it. Think it, perceive it, believe it, achieve it, receive it. I have done what I’ve done so far in my career by being bold and going for it, even when I didn’t have everything figured out or all the resources in place.

I usually start by envisioning the tour, then connecting the dots. I begin with a concept and then build a deck. For example, say I want to visit 3–4 cities. I think about places where I know artists, curators, producers, or friends who might be open to collaborating on an event. Then I start reaching out to people with the deck and see what kind of feedback I get. Where the flow is flowing is where I tend to go.

This tour is a bit different because we are working with Martin Sky, who will be supporting art management, coordination, logistics, and other production tasks. Each city we’re going to is a collaborative process with an amazing team. Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say.

My advice is to create your concept, make a deck and start boldly connecting dots. Also believing it will happen before you know exactly how. I also thank God every day for all of the miracles and blessings in my life. It’s amazing. Once I started doing that, they accelerated.

On a practical note, you’d be surprised how people tend to respond when you come to them with an inspiring idea and an invitation to be part of it. I believe everyone wants to be part of something greater than themselves. Everyone also brings something unique to the table. Whether it’s a venue, relationships, skills, products, funds, whatever it may be.

Believe in yourself, start building it, and be bold enough to put it out there. Have unshakable faith and be consistent!