- Ennis Carter
- Director
In late May, Phil and I were invited to a creative residency in Vermont—a few rare days of time and space, away from daily life, to just make something new together. It came at the perfect time.
The residency was the vision of Ana Peltz, someone we’ve known and worked with for a long time. Ana started out at Social Impact Studios as an intern, became one of our lead visual designers, and played a key role as project manager of the Posters for the People: Art of the WPA book. (That book, by the way, is now back in print—and newly available in paperback.) We are so thankful that Ana saw the opportunity to rekindle our friendship while engaging in her new work as a “creative activator.”
Ana now lives in Vermont with her husband Alex (another SIS alum and one of our longest team members—who many may remember from his time leading creative direction and starting out organizing for Meatless Monday – and now the principal of Peltz Creative). Together, they’re raising their two kids and continuing to create powerful communication and experiences for businesses and artists.
Ana invited us up to a beautiful rural space called Holden House because she sensed something in motion—a reconnection, not just with our music, but with ourselves and with each other. It was an invitation to reconnect creatively and personally. And it worked.
During the four-day residency, Phil and I wrote and demoed a new FlipCharts song called “What We Found.” It started with heartbeats. Literally. We listened to each other’s hearts—Phil on snare, me on tambour—and matched our rhythms. That heartbeat became the spine of the song.
From there, the melody unfolded slowly—something simple and steady, almost mantra-like. The kind of song that stays with you. A quiet call to action: for people of goodwill to gather, to move, to find strength and healing through connection—body movement, community movement, social movement. To stay in motion, together.
But this residency wasn’t only about music.
I also started work on a new visual piece, sparked by a line I’ve carried around for years. I first heard it in a 1956 recording of Allen Ginsberg reading his poem America in Berkeley. At one point, he said:
“America. I’m sick of your insane demands. When will you re-invent the heart?”
That line stopped me. But when I looked up the published version of the poem, the line was nowhere to be found. It was edited out—lost in the final version. And yet, it feels so necessary right now.
So I’ve decided to center that lost line in a new 3D pop-up visual piece—something physical and participatory that people can hold, reflect on, and respond to. As a follow-up to my Freedom Phoenix project, this new piece will carry forward a deep question: What would it take to re-invent the heart of America?
Ana and I worked on the first step together. We rolled out a long sheet of rice paper and painted it with water-based pigments and ink made from beets—yes, heartbeat. That roll will become the endpapers for the piece, and that time together reminded me how art, friendship, and meaning can all show up in the same moment. It was so meaningful to be in creative space with this long-time friend again. It was like we just picked up where we left off and together created a full length that I could take back to Philly to kickstart the whole project. You can follow my progress on the project on my FB/Instagram feed or through this shared playlist on The FlipCharts YouTube channel.
When we got back to Philadelphia, Phil and I went into Elm Street Studios to record a full version of “What We Found.” The final track layers instrumentation over that original heartbeat rhythm and carries the energy we felt during the residency. We released the song on July 13, 2025—coincidentally, the 40th anniversary of Live Aid. You can listen to it wherever you stream your music—or here: What We Found
And we’re not done yet.
On Saturday, September 13, we’ll be filming the official music video for the song here in Philadelphia—and we’re inviting friends and community to join us. That same evening, we’re throwing a party to celebrate both Phil and my 60th birthdays! Stay tuned for more details about that.
If you’d like to be part of the video, the party—or both—RSVP here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/4839044442901952
Huge gratitude to Ana, to Holden House, and to everyone who listens with an open heart. This project is a seed—a call—for re-invention, and we hope it inspires you the way it’s inspired us.
Ennis (and Phil) Carter / The C’Arters
The FlipCharts
#WhatWeFound #ReInventTheHeart