Arby Ovanessian was born on February 20, 1942, in New Julfa, the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, founded in 1606 by Shah Abbas I.

He joined the selection committee of the Shiraz Arts Festival, which allowed him to discover a young, previously unknown writer and newspaper seller, Abbas Nalbandian.

He staged a memorable production of "A New, Profound, and Important Research on the Fossils of the Twenty-Fifth Geological Era" for the festival's second edition.

He collaborated with Brook on the staging of "Orgast" by English poet Ted Hughes at the Shiraz Arts Festival.

From 1970 to 1976, he worked with directors such as Jerzy Grotowski (Special Project) and Andrei Serban (The Master and Margarita).