Walking With The Crow

Shona Macdonald's new exhibition, Walking With The Crow, opened at Studio Gallery in the Worthing Museum and Gallery on Saturday 31 October, and it's staying put until Saturday 30 January. It's a long run, so there's plenty of time to get there if you can't make it this week.

Macdonald is a neurodivergent artist who works across a range of media, and she draws on her own experience to explore hidden inner struggles through the visual language of the dark fairytale. The work follows a recurring protagonist who encounters symbolic animal presences that shape experiences of trauma, recovery and growth. Rather than a fixed linear narrative, it unfolds as a series of moments, and the show invites you into a mythical dark-forest journey populated by ghost trees, animal guides and imps of the mind.

It's the kind of thing that asks you to spend a bit of time with it rather than just glancing through. The forest imagery — the ghost trees and animal guides — isn't just for atmosphere; it's the way Macdonald works through those themes of trauma and recovery, and the non-linear structure means you can pick your own way through the moments she's laid out. If you've ever felt that a fairytale could hold more truth than a straight story, this is exactly that territory.

Admission is free and you don't need to book, so you can just turn up when it suits. Studio Gallery is open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10am to 5pm, and on Fridays it stays open later, from 10am until 8pm — a good option if you're coming in after work. It runs until 30 January, so there's no rush to fit it in.