Chief Curator of the Fine Arts Department of the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire of Geneva from 2017 to 2022, Lada Umstätter holds a PhD in Art History (2003), is a researcher and author of numerous publications. She was the director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Chaux-de-Fonds for ten years and had her first museum experiences in Moscow (Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Theatre Museum) and in the United States (Museum of the Rhode Island School of Design).

During her career, Lada Umstätter has curated more than 80 exhibitions, with an approach that consistently reflects contemporary social issues (notably in La Chaux-de-Fonds: Olivier Mosset. Portrait de l'artiste en motocycliste; Le Corbusier et la photographie; L'Utopie au quotidien. Soviet Design 1953-1991 and in Geneva: AES+F. Theatrum Mundi; Silences; Fashion and Portrait).

She developed her museum activities in parallel with an academic career that began in Russia (State Research Institute of Art History, National Film School, Moscow) and in Israel (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and continued at the University of Geneva, where she was a lecturer-researcher for seven years in the Department of Art History. A specialist in Swiss and European art of the 20th century, as well as in the cultural history of the USSR, Lada Umstätter has always been involved in research and teaching, notably within the framework of various university and professional training courses (Universities of Geneva and Neuchâtel; International Council of Museums), as well as through the direction of numerous scientific research projects (FNRS, Pro Helvetia).