Ara Shiraz was born Aramazd Karapetyan (Armenian: Արամազդ Կարապետյան) in Yerevan in 1941.

He participated in numerous exhibitions of young artists in Armenia and the Soviet Union.

His works have been exhibited in major cities of the U.S.S.R. (Moscow, Leningrad, Tbilisi) as part of solo and group shows.

In 2017, his works were displayed at the National Gallery of Armenia in an exhibition titled "Ara Shiraz: Retrospective".

Shiraz's paintings and sculptures are found in many private collections throughout the world: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Beirut, Paris, London, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Montreal.