The permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete – The "L. Kanakakis" Municipal Gallery of Rethymnon was formed through donations by collectors and artists.

The first donation, which formed the core, was made in 1992 upon the foundation of the Gallery.

The works of Lefteris Kanakakis were presented to the Municipality of Rethymnon by his family and friends after the painter's death in 1985.

His siblings, Anna Kanankakis and Manolis Em. Kanankakis, offered 8 works. His friends Yannis Manousakas, Maria Athanasiadou, Dimitris Mytaras, Voula Gounela and Eppie Pavlidis presented each one work from their collection. His niece Maria Marangou donated 34 works.
Three studies and the last work of Lefteris Kanakakis came from the painter's studio.

The collection of Greek artists began with an initial donation of 120 works from the collection of Haralambos and Maria Marangou.

A major contribution of 10 works came from Maria Demetriades of the Medusa Art Gallery.

Artists have been generous in donating their works to enrich the collection of the Municipal Gallery of Rethymnon.

Today the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete comprises approximately 500 works by contemporary Greek artists and covers a broad spectrum of the contemporary Greek art scene from 1950 to this day.