30/09/2025
Zbirka: How a Nonfiction Bookstore Became Kyiv’s Cultural Hub
On Reitarska Street, 17, a bookstore challenges the usual formula. Zbirka offers no fiction at all. Instead, its shelves are filled with nonfiction: psychology, history, politics, art, design, architecture, music, and rare photobooks. Founder Natalkа Kuzmenko explains, “Even the idea of a nonfiction bookstore is a compromise for me. I’d gladly open one only for photobooks or literary studies.”
The selection reflects a belief that nonfiction is not a limitation but “a vast field of directions.” From Ukrainian rave history to Timothy Snyder’s political works, from design monographs to self-published zines, Zbirka turns books into an exploratory tool.
✱ From First Opening to Relocation
Zbirka first opened in 2024 and recently relaunched in a more central, lively location. Kuzmenko recalls the first day: “At 4 a.m., my sister and I were still putting price tags on books. By noon, artists were installing works, and by evening, friends and journalists had filled the space.” Even the logo bears an accidental twist: a reversed “A” left by a stencil mistake.
The move to Reitarska brought new energy. Formerly a bar, the site now sits among galleries and cultural spaces. The relocation was exhausting—“I know now how many boxes it takes to move a bookstore, and I don’t recommend it,” she laughs—but the reopening drew the same supportive community, only larger.
✱ A Place of Ideas, Not Coffee
Unlike many modern bookshops, Zbirka avoids becoming a café. “We don’t want to serve coffee. Our goal is different: for people to come here for books, for inspiration, for discovery,” Kuzmenko insists. Visitors include journalists researching stories, filmmakers studying photobooks for visual language, and publishers scouting trends.
Prices are diverse: pocket editions for 150–400 UAH sit beside rare photobooks costing tens of thousands. “We want curiosity to be stronger than price,” Kuzmenko says.
✱ Community and Art
The bookstore also functions as a cultural hub. Its upcoming 3×3 meter gallery, curated by photographer Mykhailo Palinchak, will allow intimate experiments — one-photo shows or even site-specific transformations. A mosaic sign by artist Inga Levi greets visitors at the entrance, symbolizing the bookstore as both “a collection of books and a collection of people.”
For Kuzmenko, curiosity itself is central. “Supporting that childlike desire to explore gives people strength to face adult challenges, especially during war.” At Zbirka, discovery replaces consumption, proving that a bookstore can be both a cultural archive and a living community.
📸 Natalkа Kuzmenko
📸 Zbirka
