Chandler Center for the Arts developed as a partnership between the City of Chandler and the Chandler Unified School District. Opened in 1989, it combines professional public performances with school arts activity. Architect Wendell Rossman designed a divisible auditorium whose rear sections rotate to form smaller, acoustically separated venues. Together the spaces create a 1,508-seat theatre; separately they allow several activities to take place at once. Programming and fundraising are supported by the Chandler Cultural Foundation. The centre’s history includes a summer concert series, a mariachi festival, youth theatre camps and visual-art exhibitions, making its educational function an integral part of its public programme.