On my radar: Christine Bottomley's cultural highlights

Rochdale-born actor Christine Bottomley graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before landing her first TV acting role in 2001. She has since appeared in several prominent BBC productions including the Emmy- and Bafta-winning drama The Street (2006), as well as Land Girls and Hope Springs (both in 2009). She has also starred in ITV's Great Night Out and appeared alongside Peter Firth in recent crime drama Undeniable. In 2010, Bottomley was nominated for best supporting actress at the London Critics' Circle awards for her role in Clio Barnard's The Arbor, which was followed by further film roles in Nigel Cole's All in Good Time and Frances Lea's Strawberry Fields. Bottomley is in Keeping Rosy, in cinemas now, and will return to the small screen for Kay Mellor's BBC drama series In the Club later this year.

Festival: Hackney WickED

Hackney Wick is an area that is bursting with artists and this art festival, which runs from 1-3 August, gives you the opportunity to properly explore and get behind the studio doors. They have open studios, galleries, discussions, workshops – it's really good and vibrant, and people come from all over the world to go to it. I've bought a couple of paintings there. They also have a lot of interactive events and I've taken part in some of the discussions. Although it's a really well orchestrated event and fantastically planned, it's still a bit cool and a bit underground. A brilliant artist that I know called Jack Brown helps to run it.

Gig: Eccentronic Research Council ft Maxine Peake

This gig, on 26 July in Salford, is an evening of spoken word and brilliant music featuring Maxine Peake. ERC perform as a group very rarely – I've seen one of their live performances before at a venue in Shoreditch. They don't out-and-out advertise or shout loud about it – they don't need to – but all the cool people of Manchester who are in the know will be there. Maxine has an onstage persona when she's doing the spoken word. She's a good friend of mine and I was really proud when I saw her [perform with ERC]. It's hard to describe their sound and it's very different from anything else you would ever see. It's like John Cooper Clarke with a touch of Coronation Street.

Film: Jimmy's Hall

I always look forward to a new Ken Loach film. For a Christmas present, I got a box set of his really old BBC films, from Cathy Come Home onwards. I just wish he was prime minister – he'd be amazing! I adore Ken Loach's politics and I adore his films. I think he's formidable, an absolute legend and I'd love him to come for dinner at my house. He's one film-maker whose films I will always make the effort to go and see.

Art: Marina Abramović – 512 Hours

I saw Marina Abramović a few years ago when she was at MoMA. It was the most brilliantly controlled, inspiring performance I have ever seen in my life and I will never forget it. She's got such a presence. I also saw her at the Manchester international festival. I think she's brave, really centred and focused, but she's always trying to break boundaries – and she's a woman doing that. She puts her neck on the line. She's so honest and open when she's performing… she really stopped me in my tracks. I will be waiting in a queue to see her at the Serpentine Gallery.

Theatre: Let the Right One In

The stage adaptation of Let the Right One in was written by Jack Thorne, who helped pen Shane Meadows's This Is England. I actually did a reading of one of his early plays, years ago and he's a great writer. It's also directed by John Tiffany, who is very good at his craft, and it's something that I'm absolutely bursting to see. It's got a West End transfer [to the Apollo theatre] until September and it's supposed to be a real theatrical experience. I haven't seen the film version but I've heard it works very well on stage; I'm not put off by the blood and gore. Before it played at the Royal Court, it was on for the National Theatre of Scotland and I went to drama school in Glasgow, so a few friends up there have messaged me to say that I need to see it and I've got big expectations.

Fashion: Alexander McQueen – Savage Beauty at the V&A

This is a long way off but I've already booked my ticket for this retrospective, which opens next year. I missed out on David Bowie and I really kicked myself for that, so I'm not missing this. I've worn Alexander McQueen to a few events and I love his clothes. I'm looking forward to seeing some classic pieces and looking through his back catalogue – it will be my idea of heaven, really. I think his designs have always got a certain look and you can usually tell an Alexander McQueen. I recently rediscovered the V&A – I went to a late-night event and it was like going to a club! It was absolutely heaving, full of people of all ages. I was in the cafe in the centre getting a brew and it was so beautifully tiled – I just thought, I need to come back here.