Connell is a Philosopher and a Lecturer in Aesthetics and Cultural Policy. In the school, he is the program chair of the BA in Creative Industries and Visual Culture (CIViC). He is a member of the European Culture and Technology Laboratory (ECT Lab), an associate researcher with the Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media (GradCAM), an executive committee member of the European Society for Aesthetics (ESA) and a core member of The Aesthetics Research Group. He received a PhD in aesthetics from UCD in 2010. Connell's research focuses on how challenges to aesthetic, educational and political institutional norms and narratives gain recognition over time. He has published on the avant-garde, public art, curation, vandalism, the canon, national identity, soccer and the relationship between contemporary aesthetic theory, art practice and policy. As part of the Lab, he is a member of the Aesthico and Epico projects.
