The artistic traditions of Bhutan have been kept alive, promoted, and further developed because they are useful, ennobling, and inspirational. In fact, Bhutanese life and culture remain robust and richly colorful due in large part to the continued teaching and practice of zorig chusum (thirteen traditional arts).

Zorig chusum include the following arts: yigzo (calligraphy), lhazo (painting), jimzo (sculpture), lugzo (metal casting), troezo (gold- and silversmithing), shingzo (carpentry), tshemzo (tailoring and tapestry), tsharzo (bamboo and container work), shagzo (wood turning and lacquering), thagzo (weaving), dzazo (pottery), chakzo (blacksmithing), and dozo (masonry). Shogzo (paper making) and poezo (incense-stick making) are closely tied to and often practiced with the traditional arts of zorig chusum.

Many Bhutanese arts and crafts have been practiced for centuries and, since the seventeenth century, have been fostered by great builders of dzongs (fortresses).