Marion Gordon-Flower

Marion Gordon-Flower had a background in media arts and secondary art teaching prior to her graduation from Whitecliffe with MAAT (Clinical) 1^st cl. hons in 2008.  She has since worked full-time as a Creative Arts Therapist where she developed a 5-day per week multimodal arts therapy service in a health and disability NGO for 8 years.  She then assisted in the development of a service in mental health and social housing NGO under a Ngāti Whātua umbrella for 7 years.  Roles included overseeing Māori, Pasifika, Asian and Muslim culturally based therapeutic arts programmes alongside of arts therapy in adult and youth respite, and social housing.  She currently also works as an arts therapist in a primary school context and has recently been involved in victim support work with adults.  She has been a regular conference presenter for ANZACATA in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore.

Marion identifies as bicultural having grown up as European in a Tūhoe iwi community in Te Urewera.  As an adult, she has trained in social work, counselling, Te Tiriti, Te Reo and adult tutoring in a Tūhoe training initiative of Te Kamaka Mātauranga for two years.  The natural environment remains a strong aspect of her arts therapy practices and life style.