Pittsburgh First Night Festivities To Include Giant Rabbits

PITTSBURGH, PA — Even if crowds are sparse, Downtown Pittsburgh is guaranteed to be hopping on New Year's Eve - thanks to a display of illuminated and extremely large bunnies.

Australian artist Amanda Parer's "Intrude" exhibit will take over the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Oasis space on Seventh Street near Heinz Hall and the Benedum Center. "Intrude" has been displayed in more than 30 cities in countries that include Australia, Portugal, England and Canada.

The bunnies, which will be on display into January, likely will take the city by storm much the way a 40-foot inflatable duck did in 2013 when it spent weeks anchored near Point State Park. The duck, created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, was an international sensation that made its American debut in Pittsburgh.

"Intrude" attempts to explore the inherent contradiction of bunnies that are cute but also can cause considerable ecological damage while never surrendering their, well, inherent idyllic destructiveness.

“It can be said that the rabbit is my muse," Parer said in a release.

"My artwork, 'Intrude,' is like any good fairy tale, it works from both the light and the dark.

In Australia, the rabbit simultaneously represents a cute, cuddly character from our childhood and is an animal known to impose great destruction of the island continent's delicate ecosystems. It has been fun to use these motifs to explore our relationship with the natural world.”

See the entire Pittsburgh First Night schedule here.